FIFA president abandons World Cup private investment plan after global opposition
Sports · 1 August 2026
Written by AI from multiple news reports
FIFA President Gianni Infantino dropped a plan to bring private investors into World Cup operations on Saturday, after strong opposition from football bodies around the world.
Infantino had proposed a new company worth $20 billion to run the World Cup and Club World Cup. Private investors would have owned 20 percent of it. He announced the plan on Tuesday, but resistance grew quickly.
UEFA said it had lost confidence in Infantino's leadership and threatened to pull out of FIFA competitions. Several other confederations and national federations also rejected the proposal.