GENEVA, JUL 31 (AP): European nations agreed Thursday to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions to protest Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in soccer’s biggest tournament to private equity investors. The North American soccer body rejected his plan later the same day.
“UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions,” the European soccer body said after an urgent online meeting of its 55 member nations.
The next scheduled FIFA tournament is within weeks in Europe — the Women’s Under-20 World Cup hosted by Poland from Sept. 5 — and the four British federations comprise FIFA’s only bidder to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup. That decision is due Nov. 23.
“Some things are simply too important to sell,” UEFA said in a statement. “The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.”
The strategy meeting was called to counter FIFA President Infantino’s offer of $20 million to each of FIFA’s 211 global members that has to be accepted by mid-September.
Later Thursday, the 41-member Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) met and announced it rejected Infantino’s plan.
In a statement, CONCACAF said members “expressed deep concerns about the lack of due process surrounding the proposal, the artificially short deadline imposed, and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governance bodies.” It also questioned the need for outside investment “following the most profitable FIFA World Cup in history.”
Infantino’s secret project was revealed Tuesday to spin off its commercial operations in a new $20 billion subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) 20% owned by private investors. The core investor would be a New York investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Infantino wrote Tuesday to the 211 members — already the effective owners of FIFA as a non-profit association under Swiss law — that if they approve FFE their promised $10 million basic funding for the next four years will double to $20 million.
He projected their FIFA funding through 2038 would be $86 million each, instead of about $36 million.
“This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA’s duty as the custodian of world football,” said UEFA, where Infantino was a long-time staffer and its CEO-like general secretary when he was first elected to lead FIFA in 2016.
Infantino’s presidency at risk?Infantino’s high-stakes financial gambit now could threaten his previously secure 11-year presidency of FIFA as anger and frustration with him rises among soccer stakeholders including three of the six continental bodies.
FIFA has set a Nov. 18 deadline for potential candidates to declare in a presidential vote of the 211 members scheduled next March in Rabat, Morocco.
Infantino had seemed — 11 days ago after the World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey — to have a clear path to being re-elected unopposed for a fourth and final term in office through 2031, despite a furor over letting United States forward Folarin Balogun play against Belgium despite a red card in his previous game.
Soccer officials have said privately Infantino has eyed a lucrative commissioner-like role at the FFE spinoff beyond 2031.
“Game over, Gianni #InfantinOUT,” the Football Supporters Europe group, which advises UEFA on fan issues such as ticket prices, posted after the boycott threat.
Soccer’s concern at investor pressureUEFA detailed Thursday why soccer officials fear external investors owning a stake of the global game’s biggest events, including World Cups and Club World Cups for men and women.
“The moment external investors acquire ownership interests in FIFA competitions, football changes forever,” UEFA said. “Commercial return becomes a permanent obligation. Investor expectations become a daily pressure.”
FIFA adviser Cordeiro resigns over Infantino’s proposal
Senior FIFA adviser Carlos Cordeiro has resigned from his advisory role, distancing himself from FIFA’s proposal to introduce private investment into its flagship competitions and declaring that he had “no involvement” in the plan.
Cordeiro, the former president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, announced his resignation through a public statement in which he opposed FIFA’s proposal to establish a commercial subsidiary that would raise billions of dollars by selling minority stakes to private investors.
“I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro said as quoted by Sky Sports. The former FIFA adviser also sought to clarify his position on the proposal, stating, “Let me be clear. I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally.”
FIFA’s plan involves the creation of FIFA Forward Enterprise, a commercial entity that would manage the governing body’s commercial rights, including those linked to the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cups and the FIFA Club World Cup. The governing body has said the initiative would help generate additional funds for football development while allowing FIFA to retain full control over governance and sporting matters.
However, Cordeiro questioned the need for the proposal, pointing to FIFA’s existing financial position.
“Football has been central to my life, and after more than 35 years in banking, I understand both the value of this asset and the consequences of giving part of it away. That is why this proposal should be rejected. “FIFA already has access to extraordinary financial resources. The organisation sits on billions of dollars in reserves and no debt,” he said.
According to him, selling a permanent ownership interest in football’s premier competitions to raise fresh capital was unnecessary.
“Against that backdrop, selling a permanent stake in football’s most valuable asset to raise $4.2 billion makes little sense. It is mortgaging football’s future without any compelling justification,” he said.
Cordeiro’s resignation comes amid mounting opposition to FIFA’s commercial restructuring proposal. UEFA has already announced that its 55 member associations will boycott FIFA competitions while the proposal remains active, while the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF have also raised concerns over the governance and consultation process surrounding the plan.