UEFA says it no longer trusts FIFA President Infantino after abandoned private-equity plan

UEFA said on Saturday that it no longer has confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino and that "no option should be off the table" as the governing body prepares a full review of the abandoned plan to spin off World Cup commercial assets to private-equity investors. The proposal, which would have created a $20 billion company with a 20% stake held by private investors, was withdrawn after strong opposition from UEFA’s 55 member associations, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation, as well as internal dissent within FIFA.

UEFA’s statement criticised the process, describing it as a "secret scheme" developed on a fast-track timetable by "faceless individuals" and said the organization will work with its members and other confederations to determine how the plan was approved and to prevent similar actions in the future.

FIFA’s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour told the Associated Press that staff had been misled about the plan and that it must not proceed, calling it "the project of one person". The same day, Infantino’s senior adviser, former Goldman Sachs banker Carlos Cordeiro, resigned and urged other senior FIFA officials to speak out.

The failed venture follows two earlier proposals by Infantino that were also abandoned after criticism: a $25 billion offer from Japan’s SoftBank in 2018 and a suggestion to hold World Cups every two years in 2021. Infantino was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023, and the next presidential election deadline is Nov. 18, with the vote scheduled for four months later in Rabat, Morocco.