FIFA World Cup plan: Infantino tackles UEFA and global game – all to know

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that FIFA President Gianni Infantino is facing broad resistance after unveiling a proposal to sell minority stakes in the World Cup and other FIFA events to private investors. The plan, disclosed on Tuesday, would involve an investment firm and reportedly could be backed by a group led by Thrive Capital founder Joshua Kushner. FIFA has given its 211 member federations until September 19 to respond.

The strongest pushback has come from European football’s governing body, UEFA, which voted unanimously to boycott FIFA events, including future World Cups, if the investment idea is not dropped. UEFA said the World Cup should not be treated as a financial product. CONCACAF, which represents North and Central America and the Caribbean, also rejected the proposal, citing concerns about the process, the short timeline and the lack of review by FIFA governance bodies. The Asian Football Confederation backed those objections and said the situation has raised alarms about football’s future.

According to Al Jazeera, FIFA has blamed misleading media coverage and said it will continue the consultation process. The report says no football governing body has publicly supported the plan so far, while Mexico’s federation said it would study the details before deciding. The article adds that the dispute has put pressure on Infantino and raised wider questions about FIFA’s governance and decision-making, especially as the World Cup continues to expand in scale and commercial value.