FIFA Drops $20 Billion World Cup Private-Investment Plan After Opposition
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has abandoned a proposal to place commercial rights, chiefly tied to the World Cup, in a $20 billion company backed by private investment.
In short
- FIFA president Gianni Infantino has abandoned a proposal to place commercial rights, chiefly tied to the World Cup, in a $20 billion company backed by private investment.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has abandoned a proposed private-investment structure for the governing body’s commercial rights after the plan drew opposition across football.
The proposal would have created a company valued at $20 billion to control commercial rights to FIFA events, principally the World Cup. A separate account described the plan as a sale of a stake in future World Cup profits to private-equity investors.
Infantino said in a statement released late on Friday, July 31, 2026, that the project had created divisions. FIFA’s decision ends the plan in its proposed form after criticism from other football governing bodies.
The reversal is a new development following the earlier dispute over the proposed investment vehicle. FIFA has not, in the source material reviewed by AddisMizan, announced a replacement structure.
