Infantino's grip on FIFA weakened following investor plan controversy
UEFA says it is considering legal action against FIFA president Gianni Infantino and others involved in the now-withdrawn plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to American private equity interests. Infantino shelved the plans after a threatened boycott of FIFA competitions by three of the six football confederations. And now there are calls for him to step down, with a number of candidates,…
FIFA president Gianni Infantino's plan to sell a stake in future World Cup profits to private investors has been abandoned. The proposal, which aimed to raise $4.2 billion, was met with widespread opposition from football governing bodies and member associations. UEFA, the European soccer body, has threatened FIFA with legal action over the failed plan and has asked FIFA executives to retain data and documents as potential evidence.
The plan was to create a commercial subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise, and sell a 20% stake to private investors. However, the proposal was criticised for its structure and the way it was developed, with many governing bodies calling for greater transparency and consultation. The Asian Football Confederation and other regional governing bodies also expressed their opposition to the plan.
Infantino's leadership has been questioned by several football governing bodies, including UEFA and Concacaf. The Football Association of Wales has become the first nation to publicly withdraw its backing for Infantino's bid to continue as FIFA president, citing failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications, and sound judgement.
Brief written by urgent.news from France 24, Associated Press, Private Equity Wire, BBC News, RTE News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
