RismadarVoice Reporters, July 31, 2026
FIFA President Gianni Infantino is facing mounting opposition over his controversial proposal to sell a stake in the commercial rights to the FIFA World Cup, after one of his senior advisers resigned and Asia’s football governing body joined Europe and North America in rejecting the plan.
The crisis deepened on Friday when Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino’s senior adviser and former president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, announced his resignation, describing the proposed $20 billion private equity deal as “a bad deal for football.”
Cordeiro said he had no involvement in the proposal despite serving as one of Infantino’s closest advisers and representing FIFA on the White House World Cup Task Force.
“I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro said in a statement.
His resignation came hours after FIFA insisted that “nobody is selling football,” amid growing criticism of the plan, which would see FIFA spin off its commercial operations, including the men’s and women’s World Cups and Club World Cups, into a new $20 billion subsidiary with private investors holding a 20 per cent stake.
The proposed lead investor is a New York-based investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Opposition to the proposal has widened significantly, with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) joining UEFA and CONCACAF in rejecting the plan and urging FIFA to review its governance and decision-making processes.
The AFC said the proposal lacked adequate consultation with member associations and warned that the initiative could not move forward without broad consensus.
“Football should never have been placed in such a position,” the Asian governing body said, adding that FIFA must urgently address weaknesses in its consultation and governance framework.
UEFA had earlier threatened to boycott FIFA competitions if the proposal proceeds, while CONCACAF also rejected FIFA’s offer of a one-time $20 million payment to each member association linked to the plan.
The growing resistance now represents more than 130 of FIFA’s 211 member associations, placing increasing pressure on Infantino ahead of next year’s FIFA presidential election.
FIFA has maintained that media reports misrepresented the proposal and said it would continue consulting member associations before any final decision is taken.
“Our planned consultation process was disrupted by incorrect media reports,” FIFA said, insisting every member association would have the opportunity to vote based on the full facts.
The controversy comes just months before FIFA’s presidential election scheduled for March 2027 in Rabat, Morocco, where Infantino is widely expected to seek a fourth and final term in office.
