FIFA President Gianni Infantino has officially abandoned his controversial proposal to sell a minority commercial stake in the FIFA World Cup to private equity investors following an unprecedented wave of opposition from football’s governing bodies, senior FIFA officials, politicians and member associations.
The dramatic reversal, announced in the early hours of Saturday, August 1, 2026, marks one of the biggest political defeats of Infantino’s presidency and raises fresh questions about his leadership ahead of the FIFA presidential election scheduled for March 2027.
The proposal, unveiled only days earlier, sought to reshape the commercial future of world football by creating a new corporate entity that would oversee FIFA’s most valuable tournaments. However, what began as an ambitious financial strategy quickly descended into one of the most divisive governance crises in FIFA’s modern history.
At the heart of the now-abandoned plan was the creation of a new commercial subsidiary that would manage the operational and commercial rights to FIFA’s flagship competitions, including the men’s FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
FIFA intended to sell a 20% minority stake in the company to private equity investors, raising as much as $4.2 billion in fresh capital.
The proposal valued FIFA’s commercial and tournament operations at approximately $20 billion, making it one of the largest commercial transactions ever contemplated in global sport.
According to reports, the investment was expected to be led by Thrive Capital, the investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner, through a dedicated fund known as Thrive Eternal.
Infantino argued that the capital injection would dramatically increase funding for football development across the globe.
As part of the proposal, FIFA pledged to distribute $40 million (approximately £30.1 million) to each of its 211 member associations if the plan received approval, presenting the payout as an opportunity to accelerate football infrastructure, youth programs and grassroots development worldwide.
Within 48 hours of the proposal becoming public, resistance emerged across every level of world football.
The strongest opposition came from UEFA, whose member associations unanimously agreed they would boycott FIFA competitions if the commercialization plan moved forward.
Both the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) rejected the initiative, effectively denying Infantino the votes needed to secure approval.
Together, the three confederations represented enough member associations to block the proposal, leaving FIFA without the 106-vote majority required to proceed.
The coordinated resistance transformed what had initially appeared to be a commercial discussion into a full-scale governance crisis.
Senior figures within FIFA also publicly distanced themselves from the proposal, exposing deep divisions inside the organization’s leadership.
Former U.S. Soccer Federation president and senior FIFA adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned from his advisory role in protest, describing the proposal as fundamentally flawed.
“A bad deal for football.”
He warned that selling commercial stakes in FIFA’s flagship competitions would effectively mortgage the future of the sport for short-term financial gains.
Meanwhile, FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour reportedly criticized the proposal internally, accusing Infantino of pursuing what he described as a secret “project of one person.”
Several European football institutions accused FIFA of conducting secret negotiations while attempting to put the sport’s “soul up for sale.”
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham became one of the highest-profile political voices to condemn the initiative, declaring that Infantino was “the wrong man to lead the organisation.”
Facing overwhelming opposition from football confederations, internal advisers and political leaders, Infantino ultimately abandoned the proposal.
In a statement published by Sky Sports, the FIFA president acknowledged that the divisions created by the initiative had become impossible to overcome.
“Having listened carefully to all the views, 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.”
He concluded by confirming FIFA would not pursue the proposal any further.
“As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”
The statement marked a significant retreat for a president who has often defended ambitious commercial reforms during his tenure.
While Infantino remains one of the most influential figures in global football, the collapse of his flagship commercial initiative has exposed cracks within FIFA’s leadership and emboldened critics who have called for greater transparency and consultation in the organization’s decision-making.
