FIFA scraps private investment plan after global backlash

World football's governing body FIFA announced Friday it is abandoning a controversial plan to bring private investment into its major events, including the World Cup. The decision follows swift and widespread condemnation from football officials across the globe.

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Our purpose has always been - and will always be - to unite and improve.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement that the proposal, aimed at raising up to $4.2 billion through a commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion, would not proceed. The plan had promised significant financial benefits to FIFA's 211 member associations, including a one-off payment of $20 million and increased funding allocations.

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As a result, this proposal will not proceed.

However, the idea of allowing private investors even a minor stake sparked immediate opposition. UEFA, European football's governing body, declared that its national teams would boycott any FIFA competition if the proposals remained active. Similar condemnations came from the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF.

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a bad deal for FIFA's member associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game

The backlash also included the resignation of senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro, who described the plan as "a bad deal for FIFA's member associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game." Infantino acknowledged the divisions created by the project, stating it would only have moved forward with majority support and that it was no longer in the organization's best interest.

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Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place.