Gianni Infantino’s position as FIFA president is under threat after plans to sell a stake in future World Cups were abandoned on Friday night, according to the report. The scrapped proposal now imperils his bid for re-election in 2027, a decade after he succeeded Sepp Blatter. Infantino is 56 years old.
The plan called for a roughly $20 billion sale of equity in a newly formed entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), to an investment company fronted by Joshua Kushner, the report said. Under Infantino’s proposal, each of FIFA’s 211 member associations would have received an immediate $20 million payment and a further $66 million before 2037 if the deal were approved.
Confederations in Europe, North and Central America, and Asia — UEFA, Concacaf and the AFC — rejected the scheme, leaving a combined 143 member associations opposed, the report said. Infantino needed 106 votes to pass the proposal; with only 68 votes remaining across Africa, South America and Oceania, the project could not succeed. UEFA also confirmed that all 55 European nations, including world champions Spain, would boycott FIFA tournaments unless the plan was abandoned.
Two senior FIFA figures publicly criticized the process during the fallout. Former U.S. Soccer president and FIFA adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned in protest, and chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said staff were “deceived” by the lack of openness in planning the private-investor scheme, the report said.
A formal removal process exists but is difficult: 43 member nations must trigger a vote of no confidence, and any rival to Infantino must declare by a Nov. 18 deadline ahead of a vote at FIFA Congress in Rabat on March 18 next year, according to the report. The report added that opponents have not yet produced a credible alternative candidate.
The report also noted Infantino’s close relationships with figures including former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Qatari royal family and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and said those alliances remain a significant factor in his standing within world soccer.
