World football’s governing body, FIFA, says it will not proceed with its proposal to sell a piece of its business empire to outside investors after the project was met with fierce resistance.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement: “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.”
The plan was to raise $US4.2 billion ($5.9 billion) by selling about a 20 per cent stake in a new unit that would run FIFA events including the World Cup, valuing it at $US20 billion.
The proposal, first announced on Tuesday, was strongly opposed by European football’s governing body, UEFA, which threatened a boycott and accused FIFA of putting the sport’s “soul” up for sale.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s proposal received pushback from all corners of the football world. (AP: Eduardo Verdugo, File)
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) also said they opposed the plan.
Mr Infantino said in his statement the: “FIFA Forward Enterprise project was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening our FIFA Member Associations and our sport worldwide, especially in those countries where support is most needed.
“Our purpose has always been — and will always be — to unite and improve.”
Earlier on Friday local time, Mr Infantino’s senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, announced his immediate resignation, calling the plan “a bad deal for football”.
Mr Cordeiro, a former banker and ex-US Soccer Federation vice-president hand-picked to help grow world football for FIFA, said he could not “stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup”.
“Let me be clear: I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally,” he said in a statement.
FIFA’s Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour said staff were “deceived” by Mr Infantino, describing the proposal as a “project of one person”.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, meanwhile, told reporters on Friday that Mr Infantino was “the wrong man to lead the organisation”.
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