MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Gianni Infantino, the president of the world’s governing football body, FIFA, may eventually return to the idea of selling a share of the World Cup commercial rights to private investors if he is pressured by US President Donald Trump to do so, Vyacheslav Koloskov, former vice president of FIFA and an honorary member of the organization, told TASS on Friday.
"I said right away that Infantino would cave in such a situation. He understands that no one needs the World Cup without Europe, but I believe it’s not the end of the story," Koloskov said.
"He did say ‘yes’ today, but tomorrow he may say ‘no’ after Trump calls him and says ‘come on’," he continued.
"The confederations are made up of serious people and all of this will result in serious consequences," Koloskov added.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced a proposal on July 30 to sell a share of the FIFA World Cup commercial rights to private investors under a scheme that could potentially bring it tens of millions of dollars. The plan involves the establishment of a company that will control the major men's and women's FIFA tournaments - the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. The organization consulted with people close to the administration of US President Donald Trump prior to voicing this decision.
