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Football365

·29 July 2026

Football365

·29 July 2026

Gianni Infantino’s latest plan has triggered a strong backlash as he looks to sell a minority stake in the World Cup to private investors.

Maybe you have seen the headlines since Tuesday, when the FIFA president’s plot emerged without people fully understanding the cynicism and greed behind it.

Here is how Infantino is making so many people furious, and why the FIFA egg has to be stopped…

Somehow, he has managed to present himself as an even bigger pr*ck than he already was…

Infantino and FIFA have announced their plan to create a $20billion (£15billion) subsidiary to run the World Cup, Club World Cup and their other events, and they will offer stakes of up to 20 per cent in it to outside investors.

Under this plan, FIFA would set up FIFA Forward Enterprise to manage “commercial and event operations”, combining the sale of FIFA’s commercial rights, including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing, with the operational running of its events and tournaments.

FIFA would keep control of the enterprise but would offer minority stakes in it to private investors to raise up to $4.2billion (£3.1billion).

FIFA says it would retain sole control of the subsidiary as well as “exclusive authority” over football governance, competitions, the match calendar and all regulatory and sporting decisions.

A FIFA spokesperson said the proposal will soon be put before the 211 member associations and the FIFA Council, which would be the only final decision-makers on the issue.

FIFA said money from the capital raise would be used to create an optional programme that would let member associations access up to $20million (£15million – an amount that was almost doubled 24 hours later) in one-off capital to be used for infrastructure, coaching, national teams, competitions, grassroots football and the women’s game.

That would increase to $24million (£18million) – triple the current amount – by the 2035-2038 cycle.

“Outside investors will have only a minority stake in FFE and will not play any operational role,” FIFA said. “Equally, they are investing in a subsidiary of FIFA, and not in FIFA itself. For FIFA, nothing changes.”

Like f*** it doesn’t.

Get ready for the bullsh*t…

“Football is the world’s most popular sport and an extraordinary engine of human and social development. “Parts of the game have turned that popularity into remarkable commercial value – and we celebrate that success and want it to continue, because it lifts the whole game. “Our job is to make sure the rest of football grows with it: FIFA exists to support sustainable, inclusive development in every corner of the world. “This is about the democratisation of football worldwide.”

F*** yes. Even allowing for the assumption that any Infantino idea is automatically bad, this is a huge one. It has been described as a “nuclear bomb” and “potentially much worse than the European Super League”. And the ESL was a disaster.

You cannot simply sell the World Cup. It may be a FIFA competition, but it should never be treated as an asset to trade, especially to private investors, hedge funds or sovereign wealth funds, with no clarity over how much influence their money actually buys them.

This is turning into a fight for the soul of football – yet another one – while billionaires try to grab even more money and power to the detriment of fans and everyone else who cares about the game.

If you thought ticket prices at the 2026 World Cup were bad, just wait…

All the worst people you would expect…

A vehicle founded by venture capitalist Joshua Kushner is expected to lead the proposed investor group, FIFA said.

That name sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Joshua Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US president Donald Trump.

Oh boy.

This is likely to be Infantino’s reward for spending more time than anyone should have to with his tongue up Trump’s orange arse.

The Times says Infantino will head FIFA Forward Enterprise, perhaps as commissioner, which would give the FIFA president a ten-fold salary increase.

Comfortingly fierce.

UEFA said the proposal “crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross.”

Their full statement:

“UEFA takes this extremely seriously. So should every National Football Association. So should every stakeholder: leagues, clubs, players, supporters, governments and everyone who cares about the future of the game. “The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”

Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke out on Tuesday night.

“The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone’s to sell. Dress the deal up however you like. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out.”

The FA, like everyone else, were caught off guard by FIFA’s plan.

“We were completely unaware of this proposal and have no substantive details, including what the proposition actually is, and what conditions are attached. “Based on the limited information, we are deeply concerned about the lack of process and governance to get to this point, and the apparent substance and principles involved. “When the proposal is shared in the full and transparent way now promised by FIFA, we will make our views clear, and comment further.”

When we find ourselves agreeing with Sepp Blatter, we know we are all f***ed.

“The close relationship between the FIFA President and the US President has reached a financial dimension that is deeply damaging football. No one has the right to sell our game.”

But self-interest is sure to play a major role when countries decide their position. For instance, Czech FA president David Trunda can already smell the money…

“I can see the pragmatic benefits for Czech football from working in close co-operation with Gianni Infantino and his team. Of course we need more details, but my personal point of view is that I can see the positive impact of FIFA’s intentions.”

Infantino’s wicked plan needs the approval of FIFA’s 211 member associations and the FIFA Council.

The majority of UEFA’s 55 member associations appear ready to protest, but Infantino is well protected across the rest of the world.

But to prevent any chance of being challenged, Infantino is already turning to heavy-handed tactics.

In a letter sent to all member nations after the news broke on Wednesday, Infantino warned that those who want to join his gravy train must support his plan by September 19, with a £30million incentive to agree, already doubling the sums said to be on offer when the plans first emerged.

For many nations, that may be a sum too large to refuse, especially under pressure from Infantino and his allies.

Since the sums on offer have already gone up, it is a fair assumption that even more will be dangled in front of any nation that is still unsure.

UEFA is planning an emergency meeting with its 55 member associations this week to decide a course of action for the European football governing body.

It has been reported that European nations are willing to boycott the World Cup and other FIFA competitions if Infantino does not back down.

We can only hope they have the courage to finally stand up to Infantino and his band of b*stards.