FIFA has withdrawn plans to establish a $20 billion commercial rights company and sell a 20 per cent stake to private investors following widespread opposition from football governing bodies and senior officials. The decision comes days after the Financial Times first revealed the proposal, which had sparked intense criticism over its governance implications and raised questions about FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s leadership.
FIFA has scrapped a controversial proposal to create a $20 billion company to control the organisation’s commercial rights and sell a 20 per cent stake to private investors after facing mounting resistance from football authorities around the world.
The decision follows days of intense criticism that emerged after the Financial Times first disclosed the plan, prompting opposition from senior FIFA figures, UEFA, other continental football confederations and numerous member associations. The proposal had been presented as a major restructuring of FIFA’s commercial operations but quickly became one of the most divisive governance issues facing world football in recent years.
In a statement explaining the decision, FIFA President Gianni Infantino acknowledged that the project had generated divisions that outweighed its intended benefits.
“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,” Infantino said.
According to the Financial Times, the proposal would have enabled FIFA to raise as much as $4.2 billion through the sale of a stake in a newly created commercial entity known as FIFA Forward. The investor group leading the transaction was Thrive Eternal, managed by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is married to Ivanka Trump, the daughter of US President Donald Trump.
The proposed restructuring would have significantly altered the governance of FIFA’s commercial operations and the influence exercised over global football. As details of the proposal became public, pressure intensified on Infantino from within the organisation and across the international football community.
The controversy has also cast uncertainty over Infantino’s political standing within FIFA. According to the Financial Times, dozens of member associations are understood either to have lost confidence or to be losing confidence in his leadership ahead of his expected bid for re-election next year.
Internal criticism also intensified. FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour reportedly described the proposed transaction as “a project of one person”, adding that he and other senior colleagues had been “deceived” by those behind its development. A senior adviser to Infantino resigned in protest, while UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham publicly stated that Infantino was “the wrong man” to lead FIFA following the controversy.
UEFA issued one of the strongest rebukes, describing FIFA’s handling of the process as “irresponsible and indefensible” and accusing Infantino of engaging in “governance by intimidation”. The European governing body warned that its 55 member associations would boycott all FIFA competitions unless the investment proposal was withdrawn, significantly increasing pressure on the organisation.
FIFA had argued that the proposal would generate substantial new revenues that could be distributed among its 211 national member associations. Under the plan, each association would have received an upfront payment of $20 million together with a doubling of its annual allocation to $5 million, representing a significant financial boost, particularly for smaller and less wealthy football federations.
The proposal had been scheduled for a vote on 19 September and required the support of a simple majority of FIFA’s member associations before receiving final approval from the FIFA Council. However, with strong opposition from UEFA and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf), whose combined membership totals 96 associations, securing sufficient backing appeared increasingly uncertain.
Despite abandoning the proposal, Infantino indicated that he intends to continue leading the organisation and to repair divisions created by the episode.
“Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game,” he said.
The withdrawal of the proposal marks a significant reversal for FIFA and for Infantino, who had championed the initiative as a means of strengthening the organisation’s financial position. It also reflects the influence that football’s governing bodies and member associations continue to wield over major structural reforms, particularly when questions arise over governance, transparency and the future direction of the global game.
