Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell off part of the World Cup has backfired and has now been scrapped.
Following this summer’s tournament in North America, it emerged that Infantino was looking for private investors to buy a stake in the competition for somewhere around $20bn.
After news of the plan broke, it received much backlash and many nations, including all 55 in UEFA, publicly opposed it happening.
US President Donald Trump has now been asked about the plan after his family were linked with a potential investment.
Donald Trump denies speaking to Gianni Infantino about World Cup stake sale
Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, who is Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was expected to lead a private investor group in buying a stake in the World Cup.
However, that deal is now off, and Trump, for his part, has now denied ever speaking to Infantino about it happening.
As per Sky Sports News, the President was asked: “Did FIFA or Mr Infantino speak to you about their proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup?”
Trump then simply replied: “No, I never spoke to them.”
Amid all the backlash, FIFA’s media team have released a ‘Statement attributable to the FIFA President,’ confirming the proposal has been scrapped.
It reads: “The FIFA Forward Enterprise project was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening our FIFA Member Associations and our sport worldwide, especially in those countries where support is most needed. And more so, as we said from the outset, to do this only if a majority of the FIFA Member Associations were in support and always subject to a consultation process with them, the FIFA Council, the Confederations and wider stakeholders.
“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. Our purpose has always been – and will always be – to unite and improve.
“As a result, this proposal will not proceed. 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, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support.”
