Fifa scraps controversial World Cup investment plan

What the report says

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has abandoned a plan to sell private stakes in the governing body’s biggest tournaments, including the men’s and women’s World Cups, after strong pushback from member associations and football officials. BBC Sport reported that the proposal had been widely opposed across the game and that Infantino said it had created divisions that no longer served its purpose.

According to the BBC, the idea had included offering Fifa’s 211 member associations $40m each in return for support. That prompted a backlash from several regional and national bodies. Uefa’s 55 European members voted to boycott World Cups if the plan went ahead, while Concacaf said its members rejected it and the Asian Football Confederation expressed solidarity with other opponents. Fifa chief operating officer Kevin Lamour also said the organisation’s administration had been misled about the project.

The report added that Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino on global strategy and governance, resigned, calling the proposal a poor deal for football. Infantino, who has faced growing scrutiny as he seeks another term in office, said the proposal would not proceed and that he wanted to bring interested parties back together. The episode matters because it highlights a major split over the commercial direction of football’s global governing body, with implications for how future tournaments are financed and controlled.