FIFA President Gianni Infantino has decided to abandon the controversial proposal to sell shares of the World Cup tournament to private investors. He officially announced that this plan would not be implemented due to strong opposition from football administrative bodies and associations worldwide.
According to this proposal put forward by Infantino, a subsidiary commercial company named 'FIFA Forward Enterprise' (FFE) was planned to be established to control major tournaments, including the men's and women's World Cups. Billions of US dollars were expected to be raised by selling minority stakes in this new entity to private investors. It was also proposed that US$40 million would be provided to 211 FIFA member associations, requesting their support, and a deadline was set for agreement by September 19.
However, strong opposition arose against this private investment plan, led by UEFA, the European football governing body. The UEFA association threatened to boycott future World Cup tournaments if this proposal was implemented. In addition, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) also directly rejected this plan, joining forces with UEFA. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham also criticized Infantino's move, stating that he was not the right person to lead FIFA.
Strong opposition to this proposal also emerged from within FIFA itself, and Infantino's senior advisor, Carlos Cordeiro, resigned from his position. He stated that this proposal was a betrayal of the future of football and a very detrimental agreement. Furthermore, FIFA's Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Lamour, accused the governing body's administration of being misled by this project. According to Football 360 reports, 106 member associations' support was needed to pass this proposal, but with several continental associations opposing it, the defeat of the proposal became certain.
The controversial proposal was to be led by 'Thrive Eternal,' an American investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner. This incident has put significant political and administrative pressure on Gianni Infantino, who is expected to run for president for the fourth time at the FIFA Congress next March. Infantino has stated that he hopes to reconvene all stakeholders in the football sector in the coming days and take further steps through discussions.
Source: Gossiplankanews.com
