The President of the World Football Federation (FIFA) Gianni Infantino “will not proceed“ with plans to sell shares in a company that would manage the commercial and operational aspects of its competitions, President Gianni Infantino said in a statement, BTA reported.
The news of this action by the leader of world football was first reported by the “New York Post“ newspaper, and then confirmed by many other media outlets, before Infantino's own statement came. Thus, the Swiss man bowed to strong public pressure worldwide and abandoned his plan to sell a share of World Cup profits to private investment funds. The plan, which would have included the men's and women's World Cups, was rejected by three continental confederations, with UEFA insisting that its 55 member nations, including Bulgaria, boycott FIFA events.
In a statement released early on Saturday, Infantino said: "The FIFA Forward Enterprise project aimed to provide a basis for further strengthening our member associations and our sport around the world, especially in those countries where support is most needed." "And furthermore, as we have said from the beginning, to do so only if the majority of FIFA's member associations support it and always after a consultation process with them, the FIFA Council, the confederations and the wider range of stakeholders," the letter from the president of the world headquarters begins.
“After carefully listening to all the opinions, it became clear that the project has created divisions of such a nature that, regardless of the level of support, they are no longer in the interest of the original goal. Our goal has always been - and always will be - to unite and improve. As a result, the proposal will not be implemented. "My intention going forward is to bring all stakeholders together again in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our sport and to continue to develop football everywhere, especially in those countries that need our support the most," Infantino's letter said.
His decision to move towards selling World Cup shares to big investors also led to the resignation of his senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro, with the AP reporting a heated conversation between the two that ended with a phone call being abruptly cut off.
The “FIFA Forward Enterprise“ (FFE) project to manage the tournaments had many directions, but the idea that triggered protests around the world was the intention to sell a 20 percent stake to private investors.
“Thrive Eternal“ – A company founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, was named as the lead investor. It has so far declined to comment on the matter. On Friday, US President Donald Trump said he had not spoken to Infantino about the proposal.
In addition to the UEFA boycott and the rejection by CONCACAF, which represents countries in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, the Asian Football Confederation called for an "urgent review" of FIFA's governance and decision-making framework. South America's CONMEBOL said that after the plan was announced to the media, they requested additional details in order to familiarize themselves with it.
A number of club bosses and football legends also spoke out against the decision to further commercialize the World Cup.
Infantino's predecessor, Sepp Blatter, directly called on him to resign or the confederations to remove him from office.