UEFA and the other continental confederations have won the battle. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been forced to abandon plans to sell part of the World Cup’s commercial operation to private investors through the creation of a new company, FIFA Football Enterprise, which would have handled sponsorship, licensing, broadcasting rights and ticketing. The resistance proved too strong. In a statement issued two days earlier, UEFA had said it was ready to officially boycott every FIFA competition, including the men’s and women’s World Cups. The other confederations soon followed. First CONCACAF, representing North and Central America, then the AFC, one of the strongest electoral bases behind Infantino’s presidency. The proposal was withdrawn overnight.
Infantino admitted that the initiative had “created divisions to such an extent that it is no longer in the interest of the objective it was intended to serve”, after days of fierce opposition across world football. His position had already been weakened by the resignation of one of his closest advisers, Carlos Cordeiro, who stepped down in protest, followed by a sharp intervention from FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, who accused the president of showing “a serious lack of respect” in trying to push through the reform without proper consultation. By then, the project had begun to unravel. According to reports in the British press, Thrive Capital, the venture capital firm owned by Joshua Kushner — brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Donald Trump — had started to question an operation it was expected to lead. A plan designed to strengthen FIFA’s financial power had instead opened a divide at the centre of international football. Infantino, who only days earlier appeared to have complete control of the organisation, was suddenly facing a very different landscape.
“After listening carefully to every position, it became clear that this project had created divisions to such an extent that, regardless of the level of support it received, it was no longer in the interest of the original objective,” FIFA said in its statement. “Our purpose has always been, and will continue to be, to unite and grow football. For that reason, the proposal will not proceed. In the coming days and weeks I will work to bring all parties together, with the shared aim of continuing to develop football throughout the world, especially in those countries that need our support most.” The plan was expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue, allowing FIFA to redistribute more than $10 billion among its 211 member associations. Federations that signed up before 19 September would also have received an immediate payment of $20 million.
Despite maintaining strong support among African associations, Infantino was unable to secure the numbers needed to move forward. The issue is no longer only the collapse of Football Enterprise. The wider question concerns his authority inside FIFA. The internal revolt, combined with the damage done to his international standing, has made a fourth consecutive term far less straightforward than it seemed only weeks ago. Withdrawing the project may not be enough to repair relations with federations already irritated by FIFA’s handling of the Balogun affair during the World Cup. One possible solution would be to use FIFA’s own reserves, estimated at around $4 billion, to provide the financial support promised under Football Enterprise. Meanwhile, UEFA and the other confederations have intensified their search for an alternative candidate to challenge Infantino in next year’s FIFA presidential election. Until recently, the Swiss president appeared certain to secure another term without serious opposition. Now that certainty has gone. The Football Enterprise affair has changed the atmosphere around FIFA, and the balance of power that seemed settled only a few weeks ago is no longer quite so clear.