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FIFA Withdraws Plan to Partially Sell World Cup Rights

The reversal deepens a governance fight over transparency and control and leaves Gianni Infantino’s leadership exposed ahead of the 2027 election.

Overview

  • FIFA announced on Friday that it has shelved FIFA Forward Enterprise, the confidential proposal to consolidate tournament commercial rights into a new company and sell roughly 20% to private investors.
  • UEFA led a global backlash by unanimously rejecting the plan, declaring it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino and warning that it will pursue accountability measures up to a motion to remove him.
  • Senior internal dissent accelerated the collapse: Carlos Cordeiro resigned in protest and senior FIFA staff publicly criticized the secretive process used to design the deal.
  • Reporting says the FFE package valued rights at about $20 billion, offered one‑time $20 million payments to each national association, and named a Joshua Kushner–linked New York firm as the proposed anchor investor.
  • The episode has shifted the debate from a commercial deal to institutional reform and now risks shaping governance changes and campaigning ahead of FIFA’s March 2027 presidential vote.