Carney says he lost confidence in Infantino amid FIFA crisis

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney declared he has lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino, citing the controversial attempt to sell a stake in a company managing commercial rights for events like the World Cup. Carney's statement comes shortly after Canada co-hosted the 2026 World Cup.

The controversy erupted over Infantino's proposal to establish FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a subsidiary intended to manage the organization's commercial assets, including World Cup rights. The plan involved selling approximately 20% of the company to private investors for up to $4.2 billion, valuing the new entity at around $20 billion. Thrive Eternal, a fund linked to Joshua Kushner, was a potential lead investor.

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I do not have confidence in Mr. Infantino at this moment, given what has happened and the nature of what happened.

Infantino argued the deal would significantly boost funds for FIFA's 211 member associations. However, the project faced a rebellion due to a lack of consultation and concerns about subjecting international football to private equity interests. Both UEFA and Concacaf, the confederation Canada belongs to, rejected the proposal, with UEFA threatening a boycott of future FIFA competitions. Concacaf celebrated the project's subsequent withdrawal.

Carney, a former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, emphasized that Infantino's decision to keep the FFE project secret from his closest advisors, chief operating officer, and FIFA council members was "extremely serious." He stated this approach is unacceptable for managing any business, let alone an organization with global responsibility like football. The crisis also led to the resignation of Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino's chief advisor, who deemed the project detrimental to football.

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This is not the way to run any business, not even a small company, let alone something that has a global responsibility like football.