FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Photo: Collected

PARIS, France, Aug 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - FIFA president Gianni Infantino failed 
to calm the stormy waters surrounding his position despite on Saturday 
scrapping a plan to allow private investment in the World Cup.

European football's governing body UEFA had led the opposition to the plan -- 
saying they would boycott all FIFA competitions -- and while welcoming the 
withdrawal of the proposal said Infantino had lost their and other football 
family members "confidence" with his "shabby, back room, opaque deal".

Their response came hours after Infantino, whose previous smooth path to 
unopposed re-election for a final term next year is being openly questioned, 
had issued a statement announcing the humiliating climb down after a furious 
backlash since the plan was first revealed on Tuesday.

"Our purpose has always been -- and will always be -- to unite and improve," 
Infantino said in a statement.

"As a result, this proposal will not proceed."

FIFA, world football's governing body, had floated the plan on Tuesday, 
saying it could raise up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20 billion 
for a new FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a commercial subsidiary it proposed 
to run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.

It said that, if approved, the project could provide each of FIFA's 211 
member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027 and 
increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to 
$20 million.

UEFA did not mince its words in holding Infantino to account for the debacle 
less than a fortnight after he basked in the afterglow of a highly successful 
World Cup -- the first with 48 teams and hosted in three countries.

"The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA's confidence but also 
that of many other members of the football family," read the statement.

UEFA said the 56-year-old Swiss had broken promises he made when he 
successfully first sought election in 2016 -- namely to be "transparent" and 
that FIFA's money was "your (the member associations) money" and "not the 
money of the FIFA President."

"On both these promises, he has failed to deliver," said UEFA.

"The shabby, back room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through 
were anything but transparent.

"And with reserves standing at over $5bn, he has also failed to use 
associations' money for the benefit of the game."

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which represents 47 member nations, 
had used less forthright language when it too welcomed the plan's withdrawal.

Any initiative that may impact global football should be "presented and 
discussed with the Confederations, the FIFA Council, Member Associations 
(MAs) and other stakeholders in a timely, transparent and meaningful manner," 
the Kuala Lumpur-based body said in a statement.

- 'Shared interest' -

Those two powerful bodies had been joined by the North American and Caribbean 
federation (CONCACAF) -- which includes the three World Cup co-hosts, the US, 
Canada and Mexico -- in condemning the move.

South American confederation CONMEBOL, whose president Alejandro Dominguez is 
regarded as a close ally of Infantino, demanded further information on the 
"scope, structure, governance and potential effects" of the project.

The African Football Confederation (CAF) had urged their members to review 
the plan but the planned meeting next week over the proposal is now 
superfluous.

Pressure had mounted on Infantino on Friday with the resignation of senior 
advisor Carlos Cordeiro, who called the idea "a bad deal for FIFA's member 
associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term 
future of the game".

In the statement announcing the plan was dead, Infantino said the project was 
conceived as a means of strengthening member associations, and that it would 
only have gone ahead if a majority supported it.

"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," he said.

The beleaguered Infantino said he would focus on restoring harmony while 
continuing to grow the game.

"Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together 
in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, 
and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly 
in those countries that mostly need our support," he said.