JTFactsMax

FIFA’s Big Sale Gets Red-Carded

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has abandoned his controversial plan to invite private investors into the World Cup business, proving that even the most powerful man in football occasionally notices when the entire stadium is booing.

The proposal to create FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE, would have placed FIFA’s most valuable commercial rights — including those connected to the World Cup — inside a new subsidiary. Private investors reportedly could have purchased a minority stake, potentially pouring more than $4 billion into FIFA’s already well-fed bank account.

The idea was presented as a way to “turbocharge” football development around the world. Critics, however, suspected the turbocharger might be attached primarily to FIFA’s cash register.

On Friday, Infantino announced that the proposal would not move forward.

“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions,” he said, adding that those divisions were no longer compatible with the proposal’s original purpose.

Translated from international football language, that roughly means: Everyone became extremely angry, Europe threatened to take the ball home, and the business presentation was quietly placed in the recycling bin.

UEFA’s 55 national associations had unanimously rejected the plan and threatened to withdraw their teams from FIFA competitions if the proposal continued. Such a boycott could have removed countries including Spain, England, France, Germany, and Italy from future tournaments — leaving FIFA with plenty of commercial rights but considerably fewer teams anyone wanted to watch.

Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation also distanced themselves from the project. Conmebol initially remained more cautious, requesting additional information before deciding whether football’s crown jewels should come with shareholders, quarterly reports and perhaps a complimentary investment brochure.

Pressure also grew from inside FIFA. Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino’s senior adviser and a former president of U.S. Soccer, resigned immediately in protest.

“As a senior adviser to the FIFA president, a former banker and a lifelong football fan, I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro wrote.

He called the proposal a bad deal for FIFA’s member associations, football and the sport’s long-term future.

Infantino now says he wants to reunite football’s various factions and concentrate on supporting countries that need FIFA’s assistance most.

For the moment, the World Cup remains unsold.

The goals, tickets, television rights, sponsorship packages, hospitality suites, and commemorative merchandise, however, remain available at the usual FIFA prices