GENEVA — Pressure on FIFA President Gianni Infantino intensified Friday after senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned and the Asian Football Confederation joined UEFA and CONCACAF in opposing a plan to sell a stake in FIFA’s World Cup commercial business to private investors.
Cordeiro, FIFA’s representative on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, called the Joshua Kushner-backed proposal “a bad deal for football.” The former Goldman Sachs banker and U.S. Soccer Federation president said he had no role in developing the plan, which became public through media reports Tuesday.
“I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro wrote in his resignation statement. His departure came hours after FIFA declared, “Nobody is selling football,” and he urged other senior staff members to speak publicly.
Cordeiro had frequently accompanied Infantino on White House visits to meet President Donald Trump and participated in administration World Cup task-force meetings led by Andrew Guiliani.
AFC joins UEFA and CONCACAF in opposition
The AFC, a key ally during Infantino’s 11-year presidency, said it stood with UEFA and CONCACAF and called for an urgent review of FIFA’s management and decision-making. The three confederations represent a combined 90 FIFA members, close to a majority of the governing body’s 211 countries.
UEFA had threatened Thursday to boycott FIFA games and events until the proposal is withdrawn. CONCACAF also rejected Infantino’s offer of one-time payments of $20 million to every member federation, which carried a mid-September deadline.
The investor proposal would place FIFA’s commercial operations, including the men’s and women’s World Cups and Club World Cups, in a subsidiary valued at $20 billion. Private investors would own 20%, with FIFA identifying a New York-based investment firm created by Joshua Kushner as the anchor investor. Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
The AFC, which represents 46 FIFA members, said the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise lacked the broad support and unity needed to proceed. It also argued that the process exposed weaknesses in FIFA’s consultation and governance.
“Football should never have been placed in such a position,” the Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based organization stated. AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa narrowly lost the FIFA presidential election to Infantino in 2016.
Infantino’s reelection path faces uncertainty
Infantino had appeared positioned to win a fourth and final term, keeping him in office through 2031, after the World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey 11 days earlier. FIFA briefed during the tournament that he held letters of support from about 200 members.
That support had been discussed despite controversy over FIFA allowing United States forward Folarin Balogun to face Belgium after he received a red card in his previous match. Trump acknowledged asking Infantino to review Balogun’s mandatory one-game suspension.
Potential presidential candidates have until Nov. 18 to declare for the vote among FIFA’s 211 members, scheduled for next March in Rabat, Morocco.
FIFA blames media reports and continues consultation
FIFA blamed media coverage for disrupting its planned discussions with member federations and indicated it would continue pursuing the project, even as opposition appeared to encompass a majority of its membership.
“Our planned consultation process was disrupted by incorrect media reports,” FIFA stated Friday. The organization said every member would still be given the opportunity to vote after receiving information about the proposal.
The first event affected by UEFA’s threatened boycott could be the Women’s Under-20 World Cup in Poland, beginning Sept. 5. The four British federations are also FIFA’s only bidder for the 2035 Women’s World Cup, with the hosting decision scheduled for Nov. 23.