Infantino insists FIFA’s World Cup plan is proposal and not ‘obligation’

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing Reuters, reported that FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defended a controversial plan to bring private investment into a new entity connected to the World Cup, saying it is only a proposal and not something football bodies are required to accept. The remarks followed criticism from regional football authorities after FIFA outlined plans this week for a $20bn subsidiary that would manage the World Cup and other FIFA events, with as much as 20% of the company potentially offered to outside investors.

According to the report, several regional confederations reacted angrily, saying they had not been properly consulted before the idea was presented. Infantino, speaking in a FIFA-provided video on Wednesday, framed the plan as the start of a consultation process and said strengthening FIFA’s commercial operations was a logical step in the sport’s development.

The proposal matters because the World Cup is FIFA’s central commercial asset and one of the most valuable properties in global sport. FIFA already earns major revenue from broadcast rights, sponsorship and other tournament-linked commercial arrangements, and any sale of a stake in a World Cup-related business would raise questions about governance, control and the role of private capital in football.

Infantino sought to reassure critics that FIFA would retain authority over the game and its major competitions. He said fans would remain central to football and that FIFA would continue governing without outside interference, while its flagship events, including the men’s and women’s World Cups, would remain under FIFA’s control.