FIFA President Gianni Infantino has officially abandoned plans to sell a stake in the commercial rights of the FIFA World Cup, bringing an end to one of the most controversial governance proposals in the organization’s history.
In a statement released Friday, FIFA confirmed that the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project would not proceed in its current form after widespread opposition from football’s governing bodies and senior FIFA officials.
“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions that are no longer in the interest of the objective we set out to achieve,” Infantino said. “Our purpose has always been to unite and improve football.”
The proposal sought to establish a new commercial subsidiary that would combine FIFA’s media rights, sponsorships, ticketing, licensing and tournament operations into a business valued at approximately $20 billion. FIFA planned to sell a 20% stake to outside investors, led by Joshua Kushner’s investment firm Thrive Eternal, raising around $4.2 billion while retaining operational control.
Opposition Across World Football
The initiative quickly encountered fierce resistance.
UEFA threatened to boycott all FIFA competitions if the proposal moved forward, while CONCACAF unanimously rejected the plan. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) also expressed serious concerns over governance, transparency and the consultation process. Together, UEFA and CONCACAF represented enough voting power to make approval increasingly unlikely.
The backlash extended beyond confederations. Former U.S. Soccer president and FIFA adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned from his advisory role, calling the proposal “a bad deal for football” and urging other FIFA officials to speak out.
FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour also criticized the initiative, saying senior executives had been “deceived” by what he described as “the project of one person.”
Transparency Under Scrutiny
Criticism focused less on the idea of attracting investment and more on how the proposal was developed.
National federations and continental confederations argued they had learned about the project through media reports rather than formal consultation. Legal and governance experts also questioned the lack of transparency, the potential influence of private investors and possible conflicts with FIFA’s governance structure.
UEFA later issued a statement claiming it had lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership, arguing that the process had been handled without sufficient openness or consultation.
A Turning Point for FIFA?
The collapse of the FFE proposal represents one of the most significant political setbacks of Infantino’s presidency.
Although FIFA generated record revenues from the expanded 2026 World Cup and maintains billions of dollars in cash reserves, the failed investment plan exposed growing divisions between FIFA leadership and its member associations.
With the proposal withdrawn, Infantino says he will seek to rebuild consensus among football’s stakeholders in the coming weeks. However, the episode has intensified scrutiny of FIFA’s governance and raised fresh questions about the organization’s decision-making process as it looks beyond the record-breaking 2026 World Cup.