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Gianni Infantino humiliated overnight as FIFA boss scraps controversial World Cup plan

Gianni Infantino has been left humiliated overnight after he initially planned to sell off stakes in FIFA competitions to private investors

[Gianni Infantino]

Gianni Infantino's World Cup plan is over

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has scrapped the controversial plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and its other tournaments to private investors.

The governing body confirmed on Saturday that the proposal, known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), "will not proceed" after three continental confederations rejected the plans, with UEFA warning that its member nations would boycott FIFA competitions if they went ahead.

Infantino said the proposal had been designed to generate more investment for member associations around the world, but admitted the idea has "created divisions" which are "no longer in the interest" of its initial objective.

In a statement, Infantino said: "The FIFA Forward Enterprise project was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening our FIFA Member Associations and our sport worldwide, especially in those countries where support is most needed.

"And more so, as we said from the outset, to do this only if a majority of the FIFA Member Associations were in support and always subject to a consultation process with them, the FIFA Council, the Confederations and wider stakeholders.

"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.

"Our purpose has always been and will always be to unite and improve.

"As a result, this proposal will not proceed.

[FIFA president Gianni Infantino delivers a speech during the football draw ceremony for the Australia and New Zealand 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup at the Aotea Centre in Auckland on October 22, 2022]

Gianni Infantino has backed down(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

"Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support."

Infantino had offered FIFA's 211 member associations 30m each if they backed a proposal for private investment in its tournaments, including the men's and women's World Cups. The Italian wanted to sell a 20 per cent stake in the governing body to private investors.

But UEFA responded by voting to boycott World Cups if Infantino's plan went ahead.

On Friday, FIFA's chief operating officer Kevin Lamour admitted the governing body's own administration had been "deceived" about the project.

"What has been announced in recent days and what has been happening behind the scenes in recent months defies belief and imagination," Lamour said.

"To put it very clearly and directly: the project that has sparked so much controversy and debate is not a FIFA project. It is even less a project of FIFA's administration. It is the project of one person.

"The FIFA vice-presidents, the members of the FIFA Council, the confederations, the federations, the players, the leagues, the clubs, and the fans were not the only ones who were ignored. FIFA's own administration was also deceived.

"This lie by omission over many months and this unilateral exercise of power are not trivial. They are indicative of a lack of trust, a lack of transparency, a lack of discernment, a lack of good governance. And a serious lack of respect.

"Not only must this project not go ahead - for obvious reasons that need not even be listed here - but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions."

Alongside UEFA's boycott threat, CONCACAF rejected the proposal while AFC called for an urgent review of FIFA's governance and decision-making process.

In a statement, AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa welcomed the withdrawal of the plans.

"The future of global football must always be shaped through proper consultation, collective dialogue and respect for the established governance structures of our game," said Shaikh Salman.

"The AFC stands ready to support any initiative that strengthens the unity of the football family, contributes to the continued growth of the game globally and delivers meaningful benefits to all stakeholders."

UEFA vice-president Laura McAllister has also spoken, saying of Infantino on BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "He had to be pushed into that corner, and that is regrettable, of course, but I think it showed the unity of football when we face such an existential crisis.

"But it really shouldn't have come to this. I think most of us believe this was a hugely misguided and potentially catastrophic proposal, and it should never have been put on the table. I am delighted we were able to fight it off."

Football Australia have also supported the move, with their chairman Anter Isaac writing an open letter. It reads, in part: "The discussions of recent days have reinforced an important principle of good governance: proposals of global significance should be developed through robust consultation, appropriate governance processes and meaningful engagement with Member Associations before they are presented for consideration."

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