Overview
- FIFA circulated a plan in late July to create FIFA Forward Enterprise and sell about a 20% minority stake in World Cup commercial assets to private investors for roughly $4.2bn.
- UEFA led a strong backlash that said it had lost confidence in Gianni Infantino and formally asked FIFA to preserve documents while signalling possible legal action.
- Infantino announced on Friday that he was abandoning the FFE proposal after opposition from UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC and threats of boycotts from European members.
- The fallout has included the resignation of senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro, public criticism from FIFA executives, and formal withdrawals of support from the Football Association of Wales and the English FA.
- Opponents are exploring procedural routes to remove or block Infantino before the March 2027 election and potential challengers such as Victor Montagliani are being mooted while reports of U.S. outreach to help his position have been denied by officials.