Infantino’s US$4.2bn retreat opens fight for control of FIFA

Gianni Infantino is under mounting pressure after UEFA began preparing legal action over FIFA’s abandoned plan to sell a stake in its competitions, while the Football Association of Wales became the first national federation to withdraw support for his re-election.FIFA had proposed raising up to US$4.2bn by selling investors about 20% of a new commercial entity containing rights linked to competitions including the World Cup, implying a valuation of approximately US$20bn.Infantino said: “Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place.“Our purpose has always been, and will always be, to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”The withdrawal followed unanimous opposition from UEFA’s 55 national associations and resistance from other confederations, removing the political support required to proceed with a transaction that would have reshaped FIFA’s commercial structure.UEFA has since instructed lawyers to prepare possible legal or regulatory action and has told FIFA officials and other parties connected to the proposal to preserve documents, correspondence and electronic communications relating to its development.The intervention means FIFA’s withdrawal has not ended the dispute, with UEFA seeking to establish how the proposal was created, who authorised it and whether the process complied with the governing body’s legal and governance obligations.UEFA said: “We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account.”The European governing body said no option should be excluded from its review and declared that FIFA’s current leadership had lost its confidence, converting opposition to one commercial transaction into a direct challenge to Infantino’s authority.The Football Association of Wales has withdrawn the letter supporting Infantino’s candidacy in the 2027 FIFA presidential election, with other European associations considering similar action as UEFA coordinates its response.England’s Football Association is also expected to withdraw its support, increasing the possibility of a wider European rejection of Infantino before the election process formally develops.Almost all UEFA members had previously indicated their backing for Infantino, who is seeking another term that would keep him in office until 2031, but a coordinated reversal would leave FIFA facing an open leadership contest.Infantino still retains important support outside Europe, although opposition from UEFA, CONCACAF and parts of the Asian Football Confederation has weakened the broad coalition that previously underpinned his presidency.FIFA Forward Enterprise was intended to place FIFA’s commercial and operational activities within a new structure supported by private capital, with the governing body retaining control while investors received a minority economic interest.Each of FIFA’s 211 member associations could have received an initial payment of up to US$20m from the transaction, creating a potential distribution of more than US$4bn alongside commitments to infrastructure and development projects.UEFA questioned why external capital was required when FIFA holds reserves of more than US$5bn, arguing that existing resources could be distributed through the FIFA Forward programme without transferring an interest in the World Cup to investors.UEFA said: “We must start to use some of that money that is sat idle in FIFA’s bank account to deliver the kick start that the grassroots and the wider game need in each of the 211 countries of FIFA. But we don’t need to sell off the family silver to pay for it.”The dispute has also placed pressure on FIFA’s internal governance after member associations, confederations and senior employees said they had received insufficient information before the proposal entered an accelerated consultation process.Infantino said the project would proceed only with majority support from FIFA members and after consultation with the FIFA Council, confederations and wider stakeholders, but opponents have challenged whether meaningful scrutiny was possible within the proposed timetable.The commercial plan presented a wider strategic risk because opposition from leading national associations had raised the prospect of a boycott of future FIFA competitions, which would have damaged the media, sponsorship and ticketing rights underpinning the proposed US$20bn valuation.FIFA’s retreat has removed that immediate threat but has left Infantino facing legal scrutiny, declining political support and demands for greater oversight of future commercial decisions.UEFA will now work with national associations and other confederations on an alternative distribution plan for FIFA’s reserves, while its legal review could determine whether the failed transaction develops into a formal challenge to Infantino’s position.