FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s Future in Question as World Cup Investment Plan Scrapped

FIFA has officially scrapped a controversial plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors — as some experts say anger at the proposal could hinder FIFA President Gianni Infantino's hopes for a fourth term.

Infantino, 56, who took over FIFA in 2016 from the disgraced Sepp Blatter, just wrapped up a World Cup which brought in $15 billion in revenue.

Advertisement

But his push to bring in $20 billion with a proposal to involve private investors in the tournament — including Josh Kushner, brother of President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner — angered many.

Infantino had been expected to coast to victory for a new term, which would last from 2027 to 2031.

"It's hard to think of a situation where a person's political fortunes ⁠changed so ​rapidly," Victor Matheson, a sports business expert at the College of the Holy ​Cross, told Reuters.

"Again, as close as two weeks ago, he's riding, you know, on top of the world, the most successful sports mega event in the history of this planet," he said, adding, "And just two ​weeks later, he's fighting for his political life."

Advertisement

The backlash isn't the first time Infantino has irked FIFA's member associations.

"He's obviously been kind of egomaniacal in everything that he's done. I know that he's rubbed many of the member associations the wrong ​way with some of his decisions," sports marketing analyst Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing analyst told the outlet.

"Some of the countries that have ​been awarded World ⁠Cups have been kind of questionable. Politics has gotten involved in this a little too much."

The plan, which Infantino made public earlier this week, calls for the creation of a new body, FIFA Forward Enterprises or FFE, which would give investors "influence" over future World Cups and was expected to be bankrolled by Josh Kushner, according to reports.

Advertisement

The plan was so controversial it prompted Carlos Cordeiro, FIFA's White House representative for the World Cup, to quit.

Cordeiro slammed the private investment plan in a statement Friday announcing his resignation.

The proposed deal had sparked rebellion in the global soccer community, with more than 100 countries rejecting the deal.

"I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup," Cordeiro said in his statement.

"Let me be clear. I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally," he said, calling it "a bad deal for football" and asking, "Why now? … Who benefits?"

Click here to read article