Infantino crisis deepens after World Cup deal failure

Carlos Cordeiro, a senior FIFA advisor who represented the organization on the White House working group for the 2026 World Cup preparations, resigned on Friday in protest against the organization's plan to sell tournament rights to private investors. He described the proposal as a "bad deal for football."

The resignation became the climax of an extremely tense week for FIFA president Gianni Infantino – after presenting the proposal on Tuesday, by Friday evening he was forced to withdraw it under pressure from over a hundred national federations, the threat of a boycott by European clubs, and internal disagreements within his own camp.

Infantino's plan envisioned the creation of a subsidiary, "FIFA Forward Enterprises," with $20 billion in capital to manage commercial rights for World Cups and other FIFA tournaments. The organization planned to sell about 20 percent of the structure to private investors to raise $4.2 billion. The lead investor was set to be a New York firm led by Joshua Kushner – brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump.

"I cannot remain silent while FIFA contemplates selling a stake in the World Cup," Cordeiro said in his resignation statement. "I will say it directly: I have nothing to do with this proposal and I categorically reject it."

Cordeiro, a former vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs and former president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, questioned the logic of the deal, pointing out that FIFA already holds billions of dollars in reserves and has no debt. "Selling a permanent stake in the most valuable asset in world football to raise $4.2 billion is completely nonsensical," he wrote. "This means mortgaging the future of football without any serious justification."

On Saturday, UEFA and CONCACAF officially stated that they had lost confidence in Infantino's leadership. UEFA indicated that "no option should be ruled out" within the framework of a full investigation into the circumstances under which the proposal emerged.

On Sunday, Claudius Schäfer, head of European Leagues – an organization representing 53 professional men's and women's football leagues – went even further, stating in an interview with the Swiss newspaper "SonntagsZeitung" that Infantino's position seems untenable to him.

"When I saw how everything developed and that key FIFA bodies were not involved, there is essentially only one conclusion – as in any company or association," said Schäfer. When asked if that means Infantino is now unacceptable as FIFA president, he replied: "Usually that is exactly what it comes down to when someone in a company pushes through such a deal without informing anyone."

Schäfer stated that the proposal shows that FIFA's primary goal is to maximize profits for outside parties through more and larger tournaments at the expense of national leagues. "Nobody knew about these plans – not even the FIFA Council, the organization's governing body," he said.

In his statement on Friday, Infantino announced that he intends to hold discussions with stakeholders in the coming days and weeks to "continue to develop football everywhere." Whether this assurance will be enough to save his presidency remains an open question – UEFA has already announced a "comprehensive and in-depth" review of its position.