Gambiaj.com – (GENEVA, Switzerland) – FIFA President Gianni Infantino has abandoned plans to open the global football governing body to private investors, following mounting criticism from football confederations, national associations, and senior figures within the organization.
Infantino announced the decision on Saturday, just three days after FIFA unveiled the controversial proposal, which was intended to raise the level of funding available for football development to $10 billion over the next four years.
In a statement, Infantino said the proposal had created divisions that were no longer compatible with FIFA’s objective of bringing football’s stakeholders together.
“After listening carefully to all points of view, it became clear that the project created divisions,” Infantino said, adding that the proposal “will therefore not be pursued.”
The decision represents a significant retreat for Infantino, who has faced growing resistance to the plan and was further weakened by the recent resignation of his senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro.
Plan sparked fears over football’s future
The proposal, unveiled unexpectedly on July 28, centered on the creation of a new commercial entity called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
The company would have been opened to private investors and given responsibility for managing FIFA’s commercial and event-related activities. The plan was presented as a way of mobilising additional resources for the development of football around the world.
But critics raised concerns about the implications of allowing private capital to acquire a permanent stake in FIFA’s commercial assets, warning that the move could lead to the increasing commercialization of football and potentially alter the character of major competitions.
Cordeiro, a former banker who had served as one of Infantino’s closest advisers, was particularly critical of the proposal in announcing his departure.
He questioned the rationale for raising $4.2 billion by selling a permanent stake in what he described as football’s most valuable asset, arguing that the move amounted to “mortgaging the future of football” without sufficient justification.
UEFA boycott threat triggers backlash
Opposition intensified after UEFA, European football’s governing body, raised the possibility of a boycott of World Cups if the plan went ahead.
The resistance spread on Friday when the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) formally backed the opposition expressed by UEFA and Concacaf.
Concacaf, which represents 41 national associations across North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, rejected the proposal outright.
The AFC, which has 47 members, 46 of them affiliated with FIFA, said the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise could not secure the broad consensus and unity required for it to proceed.
It also called for an urgent review of FIFA’s governance framework, adding another layer of pressure on Infantino’s leadership.
The South American confederation, CONMEBOL, had also sought further information from FIFA before Saturday’s announcement, requesting clarification on the proposal’s scope, structure, governance, and possible effects.
It called for unity within the global football family and urged FIFA to ensure that “football remains above any other interest.”
Africa takes a more cautious position
The reaction from Africa and Oceania was notably more cautious.
Rather than rejecting the proposal outright, the two confederations encouraged their member associations to examine and evaluate the plan.
That position contrasted sharply with the increasingly vocal opposition from Europe, Asia, and the Concacaf region and placed the African confederation in a more delicate position as the controversy unfolded.
The episode has also intensified scrutiny of FIFA’s governance and Infantino’s leadership.
In Britain, newly appointed Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the proposed FFE as a “scandalous proposal” and said Infantino was “the wrong person to lead” world football.
Infantino’s decision to withdraw the plan now averts an immediate confrontation with several of FIFA’s most powerful confederations. But the dispute has exposed deep divisions over how the organization should finance football development, manage its commercial assets, and balance private investment with the interests of the wider football community.
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