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FIFA President Gianni Infantino Abandons Privatization Project Amid Global Backlash

morning · · thread: FIFA Proposes Sale of World Cup Commercial Stakes, Sparking Fierce UEFA Backlash

6 sources across 6 countries

Who reported this

  • Folha de S.Paulo Brazil · Centre · Grupo Folha (Frias family)
  • Le Monde France · Centre-left · Fonds pour l'independance de la presse
  • The Japan Times Japan · Centre · News2u Holdings
  • Aftenposten Norway · Centre-right · Schibsted, Tinius Trust foundation
  • The Korea Herald South Korea · Centre-right · Herald Corporation (Yeongpoong Group)
  • El Pais Spain · Centre-left · Grupo PRISA

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.

Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.

The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has withdrawn a controversial proposal to create a commercial entity, known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which would have sold a partial stake in the management of FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, to private investors. The project aimed to raise up to 4.2 billion dollars by selling roughly 20 percent of the new entity. The plan collapsed following fierce opposition from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). UEFA members had reportedly agreed to boycott the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to stop the project.

In the aftermath, UEFA stated it has lost confidence in Infantino's leadership and called for a change in governance. Reports indicate that UEFA sent a legal letter to Infantino and FIFA demanding the preservation of all documents related to the project. This letter was also reportedly sent to JP Morgan and Joshua Kushner, whose fund Thrive Eternal was expected to lead the investor group. While some sources note that Infantino maintains support from associations in Africa, South America, the Middle East, and Qatar, other figures have called for his resignation. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated that Infantino is not the right man to lead world soccer.

Real Madrid expressed that the withdrawal of the project is good news for football and thanked the institutions that opposed it. The next FIFA presidential election is scheduled for March in Rabat, Morocco, with the deadline for candidates on November 18. Potential challengers mentioned include CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani, AFC president Salman al-Khalifa, and PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
These outlets framed the event as a failure of leadership driven by a thirst for profit and a desire to emulate Donald Trump's leadership style.
Centre
These outlets focused on the factual sequence of the project's withdrawal and the reactions of major football institutions.
Centre-right
These outlets emphasized the legal threats, the specific mechanisms for removing the president, and the political instability within FIFA.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.