The world of football is in revolt against its king. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has set September 19 as the deadline by which the 211 affiliated federations must accept a grant of 40 million dollars, as part of a project to sell shares of the World Cup to private investors which, however, risks failing miserably since almost all the Confederations and beyond are ready to fight back.
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The company controlled by FIFA, valued at 20 billion dollars and financed by the brother of Jared Kushner, has been harshly criticized by international football organizations. Starting with UEFA, the governing body of European football, which intends to convene its 55 affiliated federations for an emergency online meeting on Thursday. This initiative represents Infantino’s latest attempt to tie himself more and more closely to the orbit of U.S. president Donald Trump: first with the creation of the FIFA Peace Award, then with the intervention of the ‘tycoon’ himself in the process that led U.S. forward Folarin Balogun to avoid a World Cup suspension, and now with the attempt to bind Kushner’s investment company to a 12-year ownership agreement with FIFA, which incidentally is formally a non-profit organization.
Infantino illustrated the “singular and unique financing opportunity” in a letter explaining in detail why he wanted to create a FIFA-controlled company worth 20 billion dollars, of which 20% owned by private investors, to manage the competitions and events of the football body, such as the World Cups and the Club World Cups. “It is my duty and responsibility, as FIFA president, to present to you, our members, such revolutionary opportunities,” Infantino wrote in the letter seen by the Associated Press.
The proposal, revealed on Tuesday and supported by the investment company Thrive Capital of Joshua Kushner, immediately sparked outrage from Infantino’s former colleagues at UEFA, who stated that the World Cups “are not owned by FIFA and cannot be sold.” An option available to European football is to threaten a boycott of FIFA competitions, a tactic already used in 2021 when the opposition led by UEFA helped block Infantino’s plan to hold the World Cup every two years instead of every four.
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“Between FIFA and UEFA today the situation is one of total conflict. This has created a kind of almost inseparable boundary between these two worlds. Honestly, I would have gladly done without it these days,” also emphasized FIGC president Giovanni Malagò who today participated in a first restricted meeting with “the most prestigious federations in Europe, including Germany, France, England” in which “Ceferin expressed an opinion that was at least contrary to this FIFA project” which he defined as ‘particular’.”
This time against Infantino’s plan there is not only UEFA, but also other Confederations such as the Central American Concacaf and the Asian Afc, traditionally a voting base for the president. “We are deeply concerned about the lack of due process,” Concacaf said in a statement. AFC in turn said it was “disappointed that such an important matter became public before the AFC family had the opportunity to review and discuss it.” According to the BBC, it is emerging that prominent figures in the football world, including at least two of FIFA’s eight vice presidents, were not consulted about Infantino’s plans. A spokesperson for the British FA said: “We were completely unaware of this proposal and do not have substantial details, including the actual content of the proposal and the conditions associated with it.”
Also very harsh was the president of the Spanish Liga Javier Tebas, who said on social media: “Development cannot be used to buy votes or silence. FIFA competitions and commercial rights are not Infantino’s personal property.” On the same wavelength is the European Football Clubs (EFC) led by Nasser Al-Khelaifi, which in a statement “takes note with serious concern of the sudden and unilateral communications to the media and the announcement by FIFA regarding a potential new corporate structure for the commercialization of some football competitions.” Not enough, because against Infantino have also come into play the European Union and the new British prime minister Andy Burnham.
