Gianni Infantino oversaw the expansion of the men’s World Cup from 32 to 48 teams, while FIFA said revenue for its 2023–2026 cycle would exceed a record $15 billion. His standing has since been damaged by the collapse of a proposal to sell a minority stake in a new World Cup commercial subsidiary.
UEFA has reportedly sent Infantino a document-preservation notice and said it is considering legal action, arbitration, or regulatory complaints related to the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.
The fallout has intensified scrutiny of FIFA’s governance. Senior officials have criticized the process, European associations have withdrawn support for Infantino’s reelection, and FIFA has held crisis talks following the proposal’s collapse.
A controversial plan shocks world soccer
Infantino unveiled a proposal on July 28 to sell minority stakes in a new commercial subsidiary to private investors. Critics said FIFA developed the plan without sufficient transparency or consultation with its member associations and regional confederations.
The proposal was called FIFA Forward Enterprise. It would have combined FIFA’s revenue-generating activities, including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing, licensing, and event delivery, in a commercially focused subsidiary.
Outside investors could have acquired up to 20%, while FIFA would have retained majority ownership, sole control of the subsidiary, and authority over governance and sporting decisions. UEFA, CONCACAF, the Asian Football Confederation, and senior FIFA officials opposed the plan.
Inside the failed World Cup sell-off
FIFA proposed raising up to $4.2 billion by selling up to 20% of FIFA Forward Enterprise to outside investors. Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Eternal was expected to lead the investor group, while JPMorgan advised FIFA on the capital raise, and former Liberty Media executive Greg Maffei served as a commercial adviser.
The proposed subsidiary carried an implied valuation of approximately $20 billion. FIFA would have retained majority ownership and control.
Each of FIFA’s 211 member associations could have accessed up to $20 million in one-time capital by joining the program. Combined with up to $20 million in regular FIFA Forward funding for the 2027–2030 cycle, the total potential funding reached $40 million per association. FIFA set a Sept. 19 response deadline.
UEFA draws a hard legal line
UEFA reportedly sent Infantino a formal notice instructing him to preserve documents and other material related to the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.
The European governing body said it was actively considering legal action, arbitration, or regulatory complaints. A preservation notice is intended to prevent the deletion of potentially relevant records while legal options are assessed.
Relations between UEFA and FIFA were already strained before the proposal. UEFA has since said FIFA’s current leadership has lost its confidence and called for a fundamental review of FIFA’s governance.
Other parties reportedly receive legal notices
UEFA also reportedly contacted Joshua Kushner, Greg Maffei, JPMorgan, and OpenEconomics. The notices said UEFA was actively considering legal action, arbitration, or regulatory complaints arising from the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.
Kushner founded Thrive Eternal, which FIFA expected to lead the prospective investor group. Maffei served as a commercial adviser, while JPMorgan worked with FIFA on the proposed capital raise. OpenEconomics was among the outside organizations involved in developing the proposal.
Joshua Kushner is Jared Kushner’s younger brother. However, FIFA said the proposed investors would have purchased minority stakes in a FIFA subsidiary rather than ownership in FIFA itself.
Fun fact: FIFA is technically registered as a nonprofit association under Swiss law, which is exactly why selling a stake in its flagship tournament struck so many people all around the world as truly shocking.
FIFA staff speak out against Infantino
The backlash extended well into FIFA’s own headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. Chief operating officer Kevin Lamour told reporters quite plainly that the sell-off scheme was reportedly the project of just one man.
Lamour said staff members felt genuinely deceived by their own boss, a rare and pointed public criticism from a senior FIFA executive aimed directly at the organization’s sitting president this week.
A separate presidential adviser reportedly resigned outright over the plan, signaling that internal frustration with Infantino’s leadership style had already reached a real breaking point long before the wider public backlash even began this year.
Member nations threaten a boycott, too
UEFA did not act entirely alone in pushing back hard against the controversial proposal. All 55 of its member federations reportedly agreed to boycott all FIFA competitions while the plan remained officially active.
That threatened boycott would have included crucial World Cup qualifiers and other major tournaments, a drastic step that clearly showed just how seriously European federations viewed the entire World Cup sell-off plan this time.
Other confederations quickly joined the growing chorus, too. The Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF both reportedly issued strong public statements opposing Infantino’s proposal, leaving him increasingly isolated on the much wider global soccer stage lately.
Infantino’s reelection now hangs in doubt
Before this controversy erupted, Infantino appeared set for an easy path to reelection as FIFA president in March 2027, reportedly already holding pledged letters of support from around 200 member federations worldwide this year.
Now, many of those earlier pledges are reportedly being withdrawn one by one, with the Welsh football federation becoming the first national body to publicly reverse its earlier support for Infantino quite openly this week.
UEFA has said plainly, in an official statement, that the current FIFA leadership has lost the confidence of many other members of the wider global football community following the failed sell-off proposal.
What this means for global soccer
This entire episode raises bigger questions about who truly controls global soccer’s biggest commercial asset, the World Cup itself, and how much power one single person should realistically be allowed to hold alone here today.
It also highlights growing tension between FIFA’s global commercial ambitions and the more traditional, member-driven governance model that UEFA and other regional confederations continue to strongly and very publicly defend today, quite openly.
Sponsors, broadcasters, and national federations will all be watching closely to see whether this dispute reshapes how future FIFA leaders propose, negotiate, and approve major commercial decisions from this point onward.
Little-known fact: Infantino’s current annual salary and bonus package reportedly sits around $6 million, quite modest when compared to the massive $20 billion valuation floated for the proposed new venture itself.
TL;DR
- Infantino proposed selling a stake in future World Cup profits to private investors, then scrapped the plan after backlash.
- UEFA has warned him not to destroy documents and is weighing legal action, arbitration, and regulatory complaints.
- Joshua Kushner, Greg Maffei, JPMorgan, and OpenEconomics also received legal warnings for their involvement.
- FIFA’s own COO said staff felt deceived, and a presidential adviser resigned over the plan.
- UEFA’s 55 members had agreed to boycott FIFA competitions while the proposal was active.
- Infantino’s expected March 2027 reelection is now in serious doubt as support quietly erodes.
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This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.
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