FIFA President Gianni Infantino Faces Calls for Resignation After Scrapping Private Investment Plan
9 sources across 7 countries · 1 of them is linked to a state
Who reported this
- Der Spiegel
- Sueddeutsche Zeitung
- Frankfurter Allgemeine
- Infobae
- CNN Brasil
- The Jakarta Post
- Dawn
- Al Jazeera
- Reuters
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino has withdrawn a proposal to sell a stake in the commercial rights of FIFA competitions to private investors following intense backlash from global football governing bodies. The plan involved creating a new commercial subsidiary, the FIFA Forward Enterprise, to manage events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup. FIFA stated the project could have raised up to 4.2 billion dollars, with a portion of the funds potentially providing one off payments of 20 million dollars to each of the 211 member associations.
Despite the withdrawal of the plan, several high profile figures and organizations have called for Infantino to step down. Javier Tebas, the head of Spain's LaLiga, stated that Infantino is no longer tenable in his position. Claudius Schaefer, head of Europe's professional football leagues, told the SonntagsZeitung that the only consequence for pushing such a deal forward without the knowledge of key bodies is resignation. CONCACAF described the proposal as an egregious act of poor governance and called for a comprehensive reckoning with the presidency. UEFA also stated that it has lost confidence in Infantino, describing the proposal as a shabby and opaque deal.
Real Madrid expressed satisfaction with the decision to abandon the plan, arguing that the World Cup is a public interest event and should not be treated as a financial asset for a privileged few. The club also linked this opposition to its previous resistance against LaLiga's deal with the CVC private equity fund. Meanwhile, reports from The Times suggest that Infantino's own salary would have increased six fold, from 4.8 million dollars to 30 million dollars annually, if the plan had proceeded.
Support for Infantino remains among some members, as the Egyptian football association and Morocco have reaffirmed their confidence in his leadership. Infantino intends to seek re election for a final four year term in March 2027. While most reports focus on the governance failure, some analysis notes that the opposition from European bodies may be driven by a desire to protect their own business interests and the international match calendar.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- These outlets focused heavily on the lack of transparency, the failure of leadership, and the calls for Infantino's resignation.
- Centre
- These outlets emphasized the reactions of major clubs like Real Madrid and the specific financial implications regarding salaries and investment amounts.
- Centre-right
- These outlets highlighted the hypocrisy of European football leaders who also pursued private investment models like the Super League while criticizing Infantino.
Sources
- Centre-left Al Jazeera: FIFA boss Infantino’s position looks unacceptable: European Leagues head
- Centre CNN Brasil: Fifa: president of European leagues questions Infantino's permanence
- Centre CNN Brasil: Real Madrid blasts Fifa after attempt to sell the Cup; understand
- Centre CNN Brasil: Infantino's salary would increase six times if World Cup plan went forward
- Centre-left Dawn: FIFA chief Infantino's position looks unacceptable, head of European leagues says
- Centre-left Der Spiegel: Gianni Infantino: Spain's league chief Javier Tebas calls for Fifa president to resign
- Centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine: Future of FIFA: The double standard of the Infantino critics
- Centre-right Infobae: Real Madrid values the resignation of FIFA and thanks the unity of UEFA and confederations
- Centre Reuters: FIFA chief Infantino's position looks unacceptable, head of European leagues says - Reuters
- Centre-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung: Fifa: How Gianni Infantino's Fall Could Happen, and Who Could Succeed Him
- Centre-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung: Uefa President: How this man became Infantino's most powerful opponent
- Centre-left The Jakarta Post: UEFA, CONCACAF target Infantino after FIFA shelve World Cup private investment p...
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.