Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup

In the 1950s Colombia had a soccer league outside the governance of FIFA.
All players were not allowed to play international football as they were not registered with FIFA.
That was in more innocent times.

FIFA would ban all players in La Liga from international football.
UEFA will not secede from FIFA. So Real dont get to play in their tournament they consider their own. The UCL.
Its a financial calamity.

If Spain want to declare UDI and buy up all the worlds best players and create their own sort of super league, then fair play. Good luck.
But thats not what they are talking about is it?
If you take on FIFA you have to be in for the kill.
When you play the Game of Thrones you win or you die. There is no middle ground.

If UEFA separated from Fifa how could FIFA prevent those players playing in a Euros tournament? and again, how would it affect the club competitions within europe and the broadcasting finances attached to it.

UEFA is not going to separate from FIFA.
There are 54 members.
The majority are going to benefit from Infantino's plan.

So if Spain secede from FIFA and UEFA remains in FIFA then any bans Spain get from the world body will be applied in Europe also.
So no UCL for Real.
And financial armageddon.

Ah right, but I don't think that nations within Europe would fracture away from the rest of Europe, they'll all be in or out together.

At the end of the day it will come down to how much of an abomination to the game will be put up with in the name of money before someone says enough.

Let's get one thing straight. No one is going to ban Real Madrid or Barca  from La Liga or the Champions League.

Or their players from the Euros.

The Euros could be turned into a comp with more countries involved which would incentivise them to separate from FIFA as there would be money on the table for them.

Broadcasters would be queueing up to get the rights to an expanded Euro's, it would dwarf whatever was left of the WC.

Clubs spend 100s of millions on player to play foe THEM not Donald Trump.

Dont know what to say to that Nobby, I really dont.

As for the Euros, its a once every four year tournament.
Doesnt generate anywhere near the revenues that the UCL does for UEFA. (approx E2bn for a Euros, E4bn per season for a UCL)

UCL clubs employ players from outside europe, so UEFA have to tread carefully.
Its in nobody's interest, especially UEFA, to upset the delicate relationships with other federations.

Nothing will change , uefa will send strongly worded letters saying how terrible it is and then do nothing , all that will happen is players wages will rise , ticket prices will rise and there will be more meaningless matches .

Vini JR isn't going to abandon Madrid and all the riches of that and the CL because he wants to play for Brazil, not a chance.

Depends if Real can pay his wages.
If not he will be out of there faster than a Spurs player when they get relegated this season..

Where's he going to..Palmeiras?

Don't knock the Brazilian serie A.
Getting richer every year.
Think its catching up the French Ligue 1 at the moment and getting bigger every year.

The more we discuss this the more powerful UEFA is looking.

The clubs could simply charge the national associations loan fees for their players/

If Donald Trump is going to make money from the World Cup why shouldn't PSG, Arsenal, Barca etc?

If a club values a player on a 4 year contract at £100m, £25m a season of 50 games that's £0.5m a game.

FIFA & UEFA have been in a d1ck-measuring contest ever since the revamped UCL at the start of the century.

It erked the world body that the europeans were coining in every year with their club tournament what the world cup brought for FIFA once every four.
Now under Johnny with his supersized world cup and his supersized world club cup FIFA are back in the game.
And now with this 'world cup privatisastion' deal FIFA are going to be top dogs again.

And UEFA don't like it one bit.
UEFA as has been shown a number of times is in hock to the clubs which dominate its champions league.
Basically this means Real Madrid.
Real have zero interest in this FIFA power play. Nothing can rock the Madrid boat. UEFA know this.
Take this criticism of FIFA too far, upset the ecosystem and Real will be off organising another Super League.

Johnny has the upper hand for now. UEFA are powerless to stop this new venture of his. The ball is in their court and they are looking at break point.

Further UEFA Statement

Today we have learned of FIFA’s deadline to associations to support their proposals or have the one-off payout offer withdrawn. This says everything you need to know about this plan.

But having held discussions with many stakeholders across the game, UEFA knows there is significant and growing opposition to FIFA’s scheme. FIFA cannot continue to use our sport to enrich themselves and their friends. We can grow the game correctly. It’s time to prioritise associations, clubs, leagues, players and fans.

n dont we/ europeans now have
two uefa tournaments nowadays
euro champs
n
national euros..
(wotever its called)...

n then fifa club world cup
n then squeeze in the fifa
wolrd cup someware

'My dangler  is bigger than yours Johnny'.

Infantino was head of UEFA before FIFA. Roles reversed if tuther way round I have no doubt. He's a pr1c of the highest order

So UEFA are to boycott the next World Cup.

Can it really still be called the world cup without Europe?

But isn't the next World Cup taking place in Morocco, Portugal & Spain!

It won't come to that, as long as they stand firm this move from Infantino will end here and now, what we need to happen though, whilst he's on the back foot is to seize the opportunity to try and get him out, maintain the threat to pull out regardless as long as he's in place.

He's a wrong 'un.

Implicit egotism.  Looks like The Hood, acts like The Hood

.... Never trust anyone who wears white trainers with a smart suit.

Carlos Cordeira,Infantino's Senior Adviser has just resigned over the issue and has released a scathing critique of the idea.

It must be heartbreaking when your plans to become a multi-millionaire fall apart

Yep.
There goes the 200 room villa overlooking Lake Geneva.

He's already a multi millionaire.  Billionaire dreams unravelling for the megalomaniac.

Spain should have a close look at the World Cup trophy.

Probably engraved
The Donal Trump & Giovanni Infantino World Cup

No doubt if this went through there would be a massive increase in Infantino's pay. Not that I'm

suggesting that there might be a huge conflict on interest!

Is he from Sicily by any chance?

Italian heritage. Not Sicilian as far as I know.
I agree though that this basically looks like an attempt to garner himself a very big nest egg.

Does FIFA actually have the legal rights to say they have to run the World Cup , what is to stop uefa concacaf asia etc running their own competition and calling it something else .

I wonder if AFCON have asked if they get a bigger share now

Could he have shot himself in the foot with this ??  Did I read there are elections looming. ??

Gianni flew too close to the sun.

Gianni is a classic metaphor for unchecked ambition, extreme hubris (arrogance), and the tragic consequences of ignoring wise warnings.!!

Infantino can not serve as President of FIFA after 2031.

But someone would have to be the well paid boss of this FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).

more like he flew too close to Trump

call it the
"world trophy"....

he has withdrawn the proposals now he needs to resign or be booted out

Somehow you can't see him resigning.

Infantino is toast.

interesting...ware ye get
this info from, cos when i
think about it, world premier leauges
series bollox on in t us of a...
gota be fifa enhanced...???

sunderland
n
wrexham....ffs

and those dirty
yorksheere....

If ever a man should be kicked when he is down.

Just a question now of whether the momentum to get rid of him can be maintained and they find a credible candidate to replace him or it fizzles out and they let him get away with it.

UEFA are going after Infantino in a big way.

UEFA has today issued its strongest public criticism of FIFA President Gianni Infantino since he took office.

The statement follows Infantino's decision to abandon plans for FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a proposed commercial subsidiary that would have sold a minority stake in FIFA's commercial rights—including those relating to the World Cup—to private investors after widespread opposition.

The key points of UEFA's statement are:

UEFA said it has "lost confidence" in Infantino's leadership.

It accused FIFA of pursuing "secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game."

UEFA said: "We must identify those responsible and hold them to account."
It called for a full review of how the proposal was developed and why it was brought forward with what it says was inadequate consultation.

UEFA welcomed FIFA's decision to withdraw the proposal but argued that simply abandoning it is not enough and that governance reforms are now needed.

This marks a significant deterioration in relations between UEFA and FIFA. Earlier this week, UEFA's 55 member associations had unanimously rejected the proposal and warned they would not participate in FIFA competitions if the sale of World Cup commercial interests to private investors proceeded.

The pressure on Infantino is also coming from beyond Europe. Reuters reports that CONCACAF has echoed calls for greater transparency and accountability, meaning criticism is now coming from more than one continental confederation.

he needs to go. its the same old story. remember when he came in as a supposed antidote to the corruption at fifa at the time and whats happened... hes now as corrupt if not more so than the previous regime. its like the old saying goes... absolute power corrupts absolutely and thats whats happened to infantino. hes gotten more and more brazen with each passing year and in direct ratio to how much hes cosied up to trump. probably sees him as an aspirational figure and theres no bigger red flag than that.

morroco, lebanon, kuwait sri lanka and qatar all pledged support for him - i wonder why

Bald headed ponce, that's Infantino's legacy.

Kind Regards.

Inherent problem is with One Nation One Vote smaller nations get bought.  That leads to systemic and institutionalized corruption.  Power corrupts even further, so you need to limit the term a leader can serve.  In most countries in the world, power, corruption and backhanders is a way of life.  I'd imagine at least two thirds of FIFA member countries are run by corrupt individuals.  On that basis you need to "persuade" a quarter of the corrupt countries to bite the hand that feeds them.  That means not giving them a choice.

You have to fight fire with fire else he stays.  Without UEFA pulling out this sale for personal gain would've gone through.  I think UEFA needs to double down to get this FIFA made monster walk.

From the FBI raids in 2015 FIFA has been an ongoing comedy.

Looks like we may be going the way of darts and boxing and golf. Different ruling bodies so you can have several “World “, champions. Creates more tv cash and more people can become “ Infantinoes “ , ruling their own billion pound businesses.

Surely it's dead in the water as is he

The plan is dead in the water.  Is Infantino?  Time will tell.  Don't know what the odds would be on him winning a 4th term?  Perhaps we should request a market?

It's game over and the real dagger to Infantino has come today, because UEFA have said that it doesn't matter one jot about your cosy little meeting yesterday where all your cronies gave you a big cuddle and you then came out with a statement trying to be tough, we don't care about that, UEFA are STILL going to boycott FIFA tournaments.

At some point between now and next March Infantino will go and his replacement will be someone other than a UEFA person as they will want to rail against the thought that they are just as bad and only want to replace one crook with their own crook or the whole thing will be ripped up and FIFA will become a board with members from across the federations all on an equal footing with no all powerful President.

Duffy I really hope you are right, but I heard some fella talking about this on the radio Today and his take on it was that Infantino has lots of cash to splash to small countrys with no money or morals,and he could still get voted in again.?

Doesn't matter if he gets voted in my a massive majority, if UEFA pull out, there is no World Cup, sponsors, advertisers, broadcasters would not be interested so FIFA wouldn't even bother trying to put one on as commercially it'd be completely unviable, moreover such a diluted World Cup would carry little meaning or value to the Winner, which would be Brazil or Argentina.

FIFA would also have to find new hosts, as Spain and Portugal are due to host the next one.

Infantino would have to resign at this point. He was painted as FIFA's saviour when he took over from Blatter 10 years ago but really he's Blatter on steroids, he's become completely seduced by power, money and influence as the years have pasted away, he's less about the limelight, is the only credit I can give him, tried to shoo Trump away from Spain's lifting of the trophy celebrations, but that's about all the good I can say about him.

Said this many times over the years, it's always been UEFA that has the real power, the Ace card, all FIFA are doing is minding the shop and running the till, UEFA can close the shop down any time they like.


Kind Regards.

The revelation that Infantino wanted to to brand a breakaway European Super League The FIFA European Super League is the last nail in his coffin.

He's all shady deals behind closed doors and UEFA will have his guts for garters.

Expect UEFA to announce some new tournaments to fill the gaps in the calendar created by their boycott of FIFA.

Egypt - strange that they felt shafted several times in the World Cup and cravenly come out in full support for Infantino

$$$$$$$$$$$

UEFA know they cant force infantino out with a vote as infantino has the support of enough smaller and corrupt nations to win , so uefa forget the words and either pull out or shut up .

All FIFA's money comes from TV and without the big European countries and with clashing tournaments that'll be much reduced.

It's all about the Benjamins

No UEFA no World Cup. Pretty simple.

france not looking to support uefa as will play in womens comp that is coming up

New allegations getting personal.

RTE website
UEFA has confirmed a "departure payment" was made to a female employee who is alleged to have been in a relationship with Gianni Infantino while he was the organisation's general secretary.

I am feeling a little unwell.

FIFA must be one on the most corrupt organisations ever.

Blatter then Infantino.

How can the Bahama's or Sri Lanka have the same voting rights as Brazil or England.

Bahama's, Sri Lanka, Kuwait, and Lebanon can out vote England, Brazil and Spain.

That's the fundamental problem. Enough small, poor or just plainly corrupt nations getting enough back handers to keep the likes of Blatter and Infantino in power.

The real money leagues and powerful football nations need to set up their own organisation. Anyone can join, but with very limited or no voting rights.


England, Spain, France, Germany, Brazil, Italy.

Cannot see FIFA making a penny without the big guns.

That's it isn't it, all the smaller nations can out vote the bigger nations but FIFA can't escape the fact that without UEFA it's game over, so Infantino has had to strike a delicate balance with his shenanigans so as to not pi55 off UEFA and others to the point where they finally say enough is enough.

Unfortunately this time his ego and hubris has cost him.

FIFA are quite an important cog in the world of football.

If UEFA do carry out their boycott then football will suffer.

Best thing that could happen is get rid of Infantino, reform the voting rights and overhaul the organisation's governance.

Football will suffer for a brief period of time only, that's all, UEFA must follow through with their threat, if they do then change within FIFA would be inevitable and then everyone can once again realign, take their foot off the gas, and Infantino support is rallying in recent days, and allow him to survive he would be stronger than ever.

lets get real. hes going nowhere. the fact that he should is utterly irrelevant. uefa are all talk and ultimately will do nothing.

I disagree, UEFA have themselves gone too far down the threats road, if they backed down now, not only would they be letting Infantino get away with it, they themselves would be hugely damaged.

This time, thankfully it has gone too far, when this is done he'll be gone,IMO.

Every country should get one vote, to think otherwise seems wrong.

Allowing a dictator to gain such overall control is where they went wrong.

The barons have made a stand and Infantino will have magna carta forced upon him.

Make it stick.


Football in general is in a bad place with the haves trying to stop
the have nots.

Infantino follows a long line of corrupt administrators who build
a power base with cash and promises... Not just football either.

He's toast as long as UEFA stand by their guns

Every country should get one vote, to think otherwise seems wrong.

San Marino, Pop 33,600 gets the same vote as Spain, Pop 50,000,000?

That's why corruption flourishes.

Bribery is why corruption flourishes and not because small nations get an equal vote.

Small country's can still be financially looked after without Infantino, that needn't be a barrier.

The first thing I would do anyway is say that the WC should go to 64 team as the 48 format made for unattractive final matches with little jeopardy, the 64 would sort that out with top 2 going through and even more of the smaller country's getting a chance to play.

64 looks a good idea, and 48 wasn't satisfactory.

small country's footballing chiefs are cheap to buy.

As i said before , I think uefa will continue with the strong words and complaints but will do nothing .

To make the new friendlies more important,why not let the top 32 fifa rated teams automatically qualify,then the other 32 qualify as usually,then the biggest best teams would be in it.

As for selling stakes in World Cup,he basically wanted to float fifa on the stock market to get his payout before he retires.

Giovanni thinks everyone is out to get him.
Well, yes they are, and for good reasons.

hope youre right duffy but fear it will be a straw says. bottom line is he probably stays but even if he goes, it will jut be another infantino that replaces him. its not the holder of the position thats the issue, its the way the organisation is set up and the power it has.

THE LETTER FROM UEFA, AFC AND CONCACAF

Dear football family:

Football is the world's greatest shared passion. It belongs to no individual and to no institution.

It belongs to the players, the fans, the clubs, the Member Associations, and every institution entrusted with protecting its future.

It is in that spirit, as confederations representing our members, that we speak collectively today.

The growth over the last decade has been real. But that progress was never the work of one individual. It was the product of FIFA, the Confederations, the Member Associations, and the thousands of people who dedicate their lives to this sport.

The expansion of tournaments, the awarding of the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups, the distribution of resources to associations. These were shared achievements, agreed together and delivered together.

This is not a question of money. The Confederations have already requested the responsible distribution of FIFA's vast existing reserves to further strengthen investment in the development of Member Associations.

Nor is it about any Member Association losing the support it has earned, despite fearmongering campaigns directed at our federations suggesting otherwise. Nor is it about revisiting the expansion of competitions, the allocation of World Cup slots, or any other decision reached collectively. Those decisions were made jointly and must stand.

This is about something more fundamental: the integrity of the game and the integrity of those who have been elected to lead it.

Leadership in football is not property. It is not about holding — or demanding — power. It is a duty of service to the football family that places its trust in it.

When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.

FIFA's recent letter to its Vice Presidents and the 211 Member Associations acknowledges that mistakes were made in the process. It treats it as a communication failure, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment. A proposal presented on a compressed timetable, without meaningful consultation, and pushed toward a deadline before the Member Associations could properly review its terms is not the product of oversight: it is the product of a design intended to limit scrutiny.

It did not acknowledge that the proposal itself was inherently flawed. There still has been no recognition that trying to sell a stake in the FIFA World Cup was a profound lapse in judgment, not merely a procedural stumble, but a fundamental breach of trust with the very institutions FIFA exists to serve.

FIFA has also committed to presenting a full report on these events to the FIFA Council, once again failing to recognize that proper governance in the face of such a profound lapse in judgment would require that such a review be carried out by a fully independent third party, and not by FIFA itself, its staff, or any actor within football. FIFA's administration should have no role in carrying out this review.

According to previous correspondence, all relevant documents and records must be preserved in accordance with UEFA's document preservation communication.

FIFA's own letter also confirms that only one elected official was present at the leadership meeting in Morocco. No member of the FIFA Council or the Member Associations was invited to participate. Only the management committee was present, composed of senior executives employed by FIFA.

This recent meeting, in which a select number of members of FIFA's Management Committee — not the Committee in its entirety — were convened abroad, rather than the leadership going to Zurich to address the heart of FIFA, its staff, only reinforces these concerns and represents the continuation of the same pattern of conduct that has brought us to this moment. It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of someone who believes the game should answer to him.

There is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be transparency.

These are not the qualities football deserves in its leadership. That is why we have taken this stand: not lightly and not alone, but together, and out of duty to the sport we serve.

Football's strength has always been its unity. We ask that this unity be honored now, by leadership that serves football rather than seeks to command it.

Sincerely,

    SALMAN BIN IBRAHIM AL KHALIFA – AFC President

    VICTOR MONTAGLIANI – Concacaf President

    ALEKSANDER ÄŒEFERIN – UEFA President

    DATUK SERI WINDSOR JOHN – AFC General Secretary

    PHILIPPE MOGGIO – Concacaf General Secretary

    THEODORE THEODORIDIS – UEFA General Secretary

If they continue to stand together there will be no need for a breakaway, just come up with a viable candidate and there will easily be enough votes to get him out and realizing this he'll resign rather than the embarrassment of getting beaten.

he flies in a private jet funded by qatar

Isn't PSG owned by Qataris and isn't the President of PSG very anti-infantino?

Are there two fractions in Qatar?

From espn

Over 30 years ago, Nasser Al-Khelaifi began his career as a professional tennis player. Today, he is one of the most powerful individuals in world soccer.

According to a Guardian report in 2012, Al-Khelaifi befriended the now-emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, playing tennis as a child and they were later teammates on the country's national team. That relationship has been fruitful for both men, with Al-Khelaifi heading the country's Qatar Sports Investments for the past 14 years, as well as beIN Media Group.

Under Al-Khelaifi, QSI purchased Paris Saint-Germain, where he has worked closely to guide the club to 12 Ligue 1 titles along with the past two Champions League titles. He has presided over the project for the entirety of QSI's investment, including making the two most expensive transfers in soccer history in 2017, signing Neymar for €222 million and an 18-year-old Kylian Mbappé for €180 million. He later managed to add Lionel Messi as a free agent in 2021.


Some of Al-Khelaifi's biggest achievements, though, come away from the field. In April 2021, when major clubs from England, Spain and Italy helped create a European Super League, Al-Khelaifi rejected the chance to join and instead helped lead the resistance to it. He soon became head of the European Clubs Association (ECA) and is a leading voice in European soccer. However, he is reportedly not interested in succeeding Infantino despite suggestions from some in the sport that he should do so.

It should also be noted that the Qatar Football Association has backed Infantino, a major issue for any Al-Khelaifi bid.

Make no mistake, though: Al-Khelaifi is not a universally popular figure. In 2024, Bayern Munich fans unfurled a banner that criticized Al-Khelaifi -- the club later issued an apology. Al-Khelaifi has long drawn scrutiny for apparent conflicts of interest because of his various roles. The ECA has a big influence on shaping the Champions League's playing format and commercial strategy, while beIN is one of the competition's major broadcast partners.

Thanks for that

Trump: Fifa removing Infantino would be a terrible mistake

US president says World Cup will ‘never be as a successful or profitable again’ if federations succeed in forcing a change of leadership

Aug 11, 2026 -- 8:48AM, SirNorbertClarke wrote:

Trump: Fifa removing Infantino would be a terrible mistakeUS president says World Cup will ‘never be as a successful or profitable again’ if federations succeed in forcing a change of leadership

all more reason to chase him then

Victor Montagliani is the most likely replacement candidate, the president of CONCACAF, he has publicly stated previously that he would like the job and was likely to try for it when Infantino left in four years time, he would also be suitable by not being part of UEFA for those fearing the organization lurching too far that way.

Dementia setting in with Trump, he stated he knew nothing of the deal the other week.