FILE - FIFA President Gianni Infantino gestures as he meets the media at the FIFA World Cup closing press conference in Doha, Qatar, Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
02 Aug 2026 05:39AM
FIFA president Gianni Infantino came under increasing fire from continental governing bodies on Saturday (Aug 1) despite scrapping a widely-derided plan to allow private investment in the World Cup.European football's governing body UEFA had led the opposition to the plan by threatening to boycott all FIFA competitions if it went ahead.Although welcoming the withdrawal of the proposal, UEFA said that Infantino had lost their "confidence" and that of other members of the football family with a "shabby, back room, opaque deal".North and Central American football's governing body CONCACAF went further still and called for "a comprehensive reckoning with this presidency" while slamming Infantino's "poor governance and leadership".Their responses came hours after Infantino had issued a statement announcing the humiliating climb-down after a furious backlash since the plan was first revealed on Tuesday. "Our purpose has always been - and will always be - to unite and improve," Infantino, who hopes to be re-elected next year for a final term, said in a statement."As a result, this proposal will not proceed."FIFA, world football's governing body, had floated the plan on Tuesday, saying it could raise up to US$4.2 billion based on a valuation of US$20 billion for a new commercial subsidiary, called the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which it proposed would run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.It said that, if approved, the project could provide each of FIFA's 211 member associations with a one-off payment of US$20 million in early 2027, and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from US$8 million to US$20 million.
