FIFA Scraps World Cup Investment Plan After Wide Global Opposition
FIFA, the world’s football governing body, has stopped its plan to sell a part of the World Cup. This decision came after many football groups around the world protested against the idea. FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced this change on Friday.
The initial plan was to raise up to 4.2 billion US dollars. FIFA wanted to sell about 20 percent of a new company. This new company would manage all FIFA events, including the World Cup.
However, the proposal quickly faced strong opposition. UEFA, Europe’s main football body, threatened to boycott FIFA events. It accused FIFA of trying to sell the very spirit of the sport.
On Thursday, 55 member nations of UEFA voted together. They decided to boycott all FIFA tournaments if the plan continued. They said the World Cup must not be treated just as a product for investment.
CONCACAF, the football body for North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, also rejected the plan. It has 41 member nations. On Friday, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), with 47 members, supported UEFA and CONCACAF.
Together, these three football bodies represent 143 national associations. This is more than half of FIFA’s 211 members. The plan needed support from a majority of members to go forward.
Disagreement also grew inside FIFA itself. Mr. Infantino’s senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, resigned immediately on Friday. He called the plan “a bad deal for football.”
President Infantino said he listened to all views carefully. He stated that the project had caused too much division. He added that such disagreements were not good for FIFA’s goals.
Mr. Infantino confirmed that the proposal will not proceed. He said FIFA’s aim is always to unite and improve football globally. Earlier, FIFA had argued that the sale would raise money to develop sports worldwide.
