{"id":1725,"date":"2026-08-03T03:15:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T03:15:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/?p=1725"},"modified":"2026-08-03T03:15:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T03:15:58","slug":"fifas-infantino-scraps-world-cup-investment-plan-but-is-it-too-little-too-late","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/?p=1725","title":{"rendered":"FIFA\u2019s Infantino Scraps World Cup Investment Plan. But Is It Too Little, Too Late?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends the World Cup 2026 final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. \u2014Chris Brunskill\/Fantasista\u2014Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino<\/a> said Friday that football’s international governing body would scrap plans to sell private investors a stake<\/a> in a new commercial venture tied to the World Cup<\/a>. The pivot came after widespread backlash and vows from all 55 members of UEFA (the Union of European Football Associations) to boycott future FIFA<\/a> competitions if the plans went through.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,\u201d Infantino said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cOur purpose has always been \u2014 and will always be \u2014 to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The turnaround followed escalating blowback from leading soccer organizations and top voices in the sport, culminating in Friday\u2019s resignation of Carlos Cordeiro, a top advisor for FIFA who said that he could not \u201cstand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read More:<\/strong> FIFA Draws Fury Over Plan to Sell Stakes in World Cup<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

“Let me be clear: I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally,\u201d his statement<\/a> said. \u201cIt is a bad deal for FIFA’s member associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game.”<\/p>\n

But the criticism has not abated with Infantino\u2019s reversal. UEFA and CONCACAF\u2014the governing body for North and Central American and Caribbean soccer\u2014continued to attack the underlying premise and said they would seek ways to prevent future attempts to advance it.<\/p>\n

A UEFA statement<\/a> on Saturday said that it and \u201cother members of the football family\u201d had lost confidence in FIFA leadership while implying that \u201cshabby, back room, opaque\u201d deals had been taking place. It also said that Infantino had \u201cfailed to deliver\u201d on his 2016 election promise of transparency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The organization said it would \u201creflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again,\u201d adding: \u201cWe cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The continued backlash could have broader repercussions for Infantino, who is up for reelection in 2027. Before the debacle, he was expected to run unopposed. However, Infantino’s $20 billion private equity plan has complicated the 56-year-old Swiss administrator\u2019s chances at running for another four-year term\u2014particularly after criticism spread beyond FIFA itself, prompting accusations of football mismanagement and corruption.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fervent torrent of rejection emerging from numerous federations is extremely significant,\u201d Jules Boykoff, professor of political science at Pacific University, tells TIME<\/em>. \u201cIt signals that, despite FIFA’s clientelistic patronage network\u2014whereby FIFA brings in billions and redistributes millions to member associations around the world\u2014Infantino overplayed his hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

The English Football Association said on social media<\/a> Saturday that it \u201cfully\u201d supports the UEFA position and echoed its calls for a \u201cfull and robust review of FIFA\u2019s leadership and governance.\u201d<\/p>\n

CONCACAF, which comprises 41 member associations, said<\/a> that the fact that the plan materialized at all was a \u201csymptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA comprehensive reckoning with this presidency is imperative,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

The FIFA President is not without some friends. Qatar\u2019s Football Association has thrown<\/a> its weight behind him, saying it \u201cfully supports [his] efforts to continue growing and strengthening the game globally.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Infantino\u2019s position has been significantly weakened at a delicate time for the organization, which ran into multiple scandals during the 2026 World Cup, including ticket pricing strategy in the United States, sponsored hydration breaks<\/a>, and its decision to overturn Folarin Balogun\u2019s red-card suspension ahead of the USMNT\u2019s Round of 16 match, which followed a phone call between Infantino and U.S. President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Who are possible challengers to FIFA President Gianni Infantino?<\/h2>\n

Infantino was originally expected to easily retain his position at the helm of FIFA in March 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, with public calls for review into his leadership, potential rivals may feel emboldened.<\/p>\n

\u201cFIFA is full of sharks, and there’s no question that many of them can smell blood. Infantino’s election in 2027, which seemed like a sure bet only a few days ago, is now an open question,\u201d Boykoff says.<\/p>\n

Challengers for his role must submit their candidacies by Nov. 18, and there has already been some speculation as to who might make a bid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), was defeated by Infantino in 2016, the current administrator\u2019s first term, but he could return a decade later as a frontrunner. He called Infantino\u2019s investment proposal and his failure to consult AFC on it \u201ctotally unacceptable<\/a>,\u201d putting the two publicly at odds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paris Saint-Germain President Nasser Al-Khelaifi has also been floated by European football officials as a potential candidate to run against Infantino. But when approached by Politico<\/em><\/a> <\/em>earlier this week, <\/em>his representatives said he has \u201cno ambition, no intention, no interest in the FIFA role, and he will continue to discreetly support all the institutions of world and European football.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once the world of soccer is no longer in the immediate wake of the equity venture controversy, more contenders could emerge.<\/p>\n

However, UCLA law professor Steven Bank tells TIME<\/em> that he would not count Infantino out of the running yet\u2014especially with over seven months to garner support.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019ll be weakened, but it’s the classic case of if you come for the king, you better kill him, you can’t leave him just wounded,\u201d Bank says. \u201cAnd none of the prospective candidates for president are free from problems themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

And countries are going to have trouble parting from Infantino, he explains: \u201cThey’re going to say, \u2018Look, I don’t like Infantino, but I know what I’m going to get from him.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Regional administrators who are worried about FIFA corruption should be concerned with more than just Infantino, Bank adds, saying that he is merely part of a larger, ongoing issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it was just Infantino who was pushing this [proposal], but the existing governance structure allowed him to,\u201d Bank says. \u201cIf that’s the case, then there are problems with the governance structure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a single-person issue,\u201d Bank explains, warning that a replacement for Infantino could just as easily come in and try advancing a similar plan in the years ahead.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

Source: Read the original article on time.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends the World Cup 2026 final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. \u2014Chris Brunskill\/Fantasista\u2014Getty Images FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Friday that football’s international governing body would scrap plans to sell private investors a stake in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,3],"tags":[18,29,33],"class_list":["post-1725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-share-suggestions","category-technology","tag-impact-amzn","tag-signal-avoid","tag-stage-stage-4"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}