FIFA president Gianni Infantino abandons plan to sell World Cup equity after backlash

The GIST: FIFA president Gianni Infantino is in the “find out” phase after his plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity firms united the soccer world against him in record time. The proposal was officially abandoned on Friday but the backlash (and gaslighting) are just getting started. Delicious.

The background: Last week, FIFA announced plans to create a new company, FIFA Forward Enterprise, to oversee its main events, including the men’s and women’s World Cup…and sell a stake in that company to private investors to raise a total of $20B.

The boycott: Shortly after Infantino’s plan went public, European football’s governing body UEFA announced it would boycott FIFA–sanctioned events like the WWC qualifiers planned for fall. This would have been disastrous for the tournament with six of the top 10 teams in the world coming from Europe, including reigning champs Spain.

• North American soccer body Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation also rejected FIFA’s proposal. However, with Infantino’s plans abandoned, the European boycott will not proceed.

Looking ahead: Things are just getting started for Infantino who, instead of receiving a self-imposed 525% pay increase, will endure a more-contested presidential re-election campaign in March 2027. There are also rumblings of a vote of no confidence, but it would require 43 member associations to even trigger a vote and it’s unclear how many would actually be needed to oust him. A girl can dream.