Fifa president Gianni Infantino has pulled his controversial World Cup funding plan after a dramatic four days that drew comparisons to the European Super League crisis of 2021. The ESL was a splinter league formed by 12 of Europe’s biggest clubs, including six from the Premier League. While Infantino’s private-investment plan lacked a catchy title, it outlasted the ESL by two days before Fifa confirmed it was being withdrawn on Saturday.
The backlash was fierce. AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa was among those to criticise Infantino’s plans, and the language directed at the Fifa president was among the most severe ever aimed at the holder of that position, with words such as “shabby” and “secret schemes” featuring prominently.
Questions swirled around why private investment was sought in the first place. Fifa is a not-for-profit organisation sitting on financial reserves of over $2bn (£1.48bn), and is expected to announce record revenues of around $15bn (£11.13bn) tied to this summer’s World Cup. Against that backdrop, many questioned the necessity of the plan, which offered countries $40m (£29.67m) for football development initiatives if they signed up by 19 September.
Those questions were never asked publicly — and, it has emerged, were not raised privately within Fifa’s corridors of power either. Many of the organisation’s most senior figures, including vice-presidents, special advisers and executives, were kept entirely in the dark while the plans were being drawn up, leaving them with no opportunity to scrutinise or challenge the proposal.
The swift collapse of the plan raises a broader question about football’s financial direction. Despite the vast sums generated at the top level of the game, the episode has prompted debate about whether there remains a line that cannot be crossed — even in a sport where player and executive earnings are far beyond the reach of ordinary fans.
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