FIFA president Gianni Infantino has abandoned his plan to sell equity in the World Cup after facing intense pushback worldwide, including opposition from within soccer's own governing body and a threatened walkout by European federations.
Infantino had pitched folding FIFA's commercial operations, which lead the men's and women's World Cups and Club World Cups, into a $20 billion spinoff company. FIFA identified the lead investor as a New York investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of United States President Donald Trump.
Infantino confirmed the "proposal will not proceed" in a statement on Friday.
"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 said.
Infantino's reversal came after days of mounting resistance across the sport -- from North America (fresh off hosting the 2026 FiFA World Cup) to Europe and beyond.
UEFA and its 55 member associations announced they would boycott all FIFA competitions, calling Infantino's plan an attempt to treat the World Cup as an investment product rather than one of the game's greatest sporting legacies. The Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF followed with their own objections. Together, the three confederations represent roughly two-thirds of FIFA's voting membership, all opposing the highly controversial plan that further put sport's integrity at stake internationally after years of battling a public image deeply damaged due to corruption scandals.
The opposition wasn't limited to soccer's power structures. Infantino's own senior adviser, former U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro, resigned in protest on Friday, saying he wanted no part of a deal he called damaging to FIFA's member associations and the sport's long-term future. Even FIFA's chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, spoke out publicly against the project, telling reporters staff had been misled about it and that he was prepared to lose his job over speaking out.
Trump, who this summer was found to have asked Infantino to overturn the red card issued to U.S. star striker Folarin Balogun in the knockout stages of the World Cup, denied discussing the World Cup stake sale with the FIFA chief.
FIFA had originally set a Sept. 19 deadline for member associations to back the plan, warning of steep funding cuts for those who did not. That timeline, paired with reports that FIFA was simultaneously fast-tracking a move to a 64-team World Cup for 2030, added to the sense among federations that they were being rushed into a decision without real consultation.
It remains to be seen whether calls for Infantino's ouster will continue.
