FIFA President Gianni Infantino has dropped his contentious plan to sell World Cup profits to private equity firms after facing strong opposition from football organizations worldwide.

The proposal, announced earlier in the week, involved creating a $20 billion company to manage the World Cup, with private investors including Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner. The plan sparked immediate backlash, led by European football’s governing body UEFA, which threatened to boycott the tournament if the sale proceeded. North America's CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation also voiced their opposition.

In a statement on Friday, August 1, 2026, Infantino said, “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 added, “Our purpose has always been — and will always be — to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”

The controversy intensified when Infantino's senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker who served on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned in protest. Cordeiro stated, “I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” and urged other senior FIFA staff to speak out.

Hours later, FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, a longtime colleague of Infantino at both FIFA and UEFA, told The Associated Press that FIFA staff felt deceived by Infantino's lack of transparency in planning the sale and insisted the project must not continue.

The plan's withdrawal marks a significant moment in FIFA's governance, reflecting the power of collective opposition from football bodies and internal dissent within FIFA itself.

Sources