FIFA ditches plan to seek private investment for World Cup
The Hill · C · trust 52/100
Comments: by Dominick Mastrangelo - 07/31/26 8:00 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Dominick Mastrangelo - 07/31/26 8:00 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING FIFA has scrapped plans to cash in on the popularity of the World Cup by selling a share of it to private equity as part of what it said earlier this week was a broader investment strategy, the federation said late Friday.
The plan, which would have sought private investment to the tune of around $10 billion in exchange for rights to operate, broadcast and promote the World Cup, had “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,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
“Our purpose has always been – and will always be – to unite and improve,” Infantino said. “As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”
Infantino’s plan to seek private investment for the Cup had sparked international outrage, including from UEFA, which represents European football associations and backs the annual Champions League competition for clubs, and CONCACAF, which governs North American football.
UEFA voted this week to boycott future World Cups if it was sold to private equity, while CONCACAF said FIFA was “losing sight of its values,” with the proposal.
The plan had come under particular scrutiny in the United States over the involvement of Josh Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kusher, as a lead investor for the project.
Infantino, who had faced calls from around the world to resign over the proposal, signaled an eagerness to work with his critics and remain in his position despite the private equity plan’s failure.
“Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game,” he said in his Friday statement. ” ... and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support.”
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