FIFA President Gianni Infantino has withdrawn a proposal to create a commercial subsidiary to manage the World Cup and sell stakes to private investors, after UEFA and other confederations threatened a boycott.
The project, officially announced by FIFA on July 28, envisioned the creation of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which would hold the rights to major men's and women's tournaments, including the World Cup and the Club World Cup.
"Having listened carefully to all opinions, I clearly understood that this project has created a division of such a nature that, regardless of the level of support, it no longer serves the goals for which it was proposed," Infantino said in a statement, as reported by Reuters.
The most vocal reaction came from UEFA. At an emergency meeting, all 55 national associations unanimously decided to boycott all competitions under FIFA's auspices, including the World Cup, if the plan was not withdrawn. "No UEFA national team will participate in any FIFA competitions as long as this proposal remains in force," the European union said. They were joined by CONCACAF (North and Central America) and the Asian Football Confederation, which did not threaten a boycott but sharply condemned the initiative.
FIFA, for its part, defended the project. In a press release, the federation claimed that "no one is selling football" and accused the media of "disrupting the planned consultation process" due to "incorrect" coverage.
The investor expected to lead a group of buyers for a minority stake in FFE was named as Thrive Eternal, an entity of venture firm Thrive Capital, founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump's son-in-law. According to The Times, JPMorgan Chase, which was brought into the project, valued the new company at $20 billion. Donald Trump said he had not discussed these plans with Infantino.
Amid the scandal, on Friday, Infantino's senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro, who had worked at FIFA for nearly five years, resigned. He said he was categorically against the deal, calling it "disadvantageous for national federations, football and its future." FIFA's chief executive officer Kevin Lamour accused Infantino of deceiving the organization's staff.