Gianni Infantino FIFA investment plan dispute

Infantino apologised for the failed private investment project.

AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa delivered backing for Infantino's re-election bid at a meeting in Tokyo.

Infantino has faced calls to quit and lost the support of some associations in his bid to be re-elected to a fourth and final term.

The AFC, UEFA, and CONCACAF had previously criticised the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.

All African countries endorsed Gianni Infantino at a meeting in Cape Verde.

The FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal sought private investment in a new entity controlling commercial rights linked to major FIFA competitions.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) endorsed Gianni Infantino for another term as FIFA president.

The deadline for candidates to file against Gianni Infantino in the FIFA election is November 18.

Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa delivered the endorsement of Infantino at the AFC’s extraordinary congress in Tokyo.

The 2030 World Cup will take place in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

FIFA launched its tender offer for the 2030 U.S. media rights on Thursday.

Some media executives predicted rights for the 2030 U.S. World Cup could sell for between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.

The AFC, CAF, Concacaf and Conmebol will each be represented by three clubs in the Women's Club World Cup, plus one team from Oceania.

The inaugural Women's Club World Cup competition will feature 19 teams.

Teams in the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil will receive the same preparation money from Fifa as those that played at the 2026 men’s tournament.

The abandoned investment plan was called FIFA Forward Enterprise.

Infantino launched and quickly dropped a $4.2bn World Cup sell-off plan in July amid a backlash led by Europe.

UEFA submitted 42 detailed questions to FIFA demanding responses by November 2.

Folarin Balogun received a red card for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Tarik Muharemovic of Bosnia.

FIFA is expected to change a rule that allowed a red card for Folarin Balogun to be overturned during the World Cup.

United States President Donald Trump urged FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review Folarin Balogun's red card case.

Gianni Infantino apologised to his FIFA council colleagues for blindsiding them over his private investor plan.

FIFA will review whether to continue awarding the peace prize that was created to be given to Donald Trump.

UEFA has asked courts in the United States for the right to get evidence for a criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland.

Former Switzerland and Tottenham defender Ramon Vega said he wants to run against Infantino.

Infantino's plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and other tournaments to private investors was quickly defeated.

UEFA said the candidate should represent FIFA globally and provide leadership without exercising management functions.

Infantino was at the Arabian Gulf Cup tournament in Saudi Arabia.

The Premier League and three other top European leagues (Spain, Italy, and Germany) called for governance reform of FIFA.

Infantino abandoned a plan to sell 20% of FIFA's commercial rights in the World Cup to private investors.

Ceferin said the project that shattered the unity of world football may be abolished but the trust it broke has not returned.

Infantino said he remains fully committed to leading FIFA.

The investment plan was dropped in July after fierce opposition from UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF.

UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf called for changes to FIFA's leadership following the abandoned investment plan.

Infantino faced backlash over his proposal to sell a 20 percent stake in FIFA's commercial rights to private investors.

Infantino stated that no FIFA member association's treatment will depend on its position on any proposal or institutional matter.

Infantino said the FFE plan did not involve relinquishing FIFA's control or authority over sporting decisions.

Infantino said the FFE proposal entered the public domain before FIFA's planned institutional process had been completed.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has proposed an external review of how FIFA operates.

Ceferin and Montagliani proposed that confederations jointly complete the analysis and agree on the amount of reserves to be released to member associations, with recommendations submitted for consideration at the next FIFA Council meeting.

The proposed one-off release would be additional to the existing FIFA Forward Programme.

Gianni Infantino is expected to seek another term as FIFA President in the March 2027 vote.

Hewitt has called for the release of documents relating to the decision to suspend a ban handed to United States striker Folarin Balogun during the World Cup, which followed a phone call from US President Donald Trump to Infantino.

UEFA has committed to identifying a credible candidate to run against Infantino at the FIFA Congress in March, with November 18 the deadline for candidates to be submitted.

Infantino apologised for the process in regard to the private investor plan in August.

The FIFA presidential election will be held in Rabat on March 18, 2027.

FIFA said it wants to await the discussion at the upcoming Council meeting in October before answering questions about the FIFA Forward Enterprise.

Infantino can count on enough votes to win re-election, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.

UEFA argued that the confidentiality concerns cited by the US subsidiaries belonged to their Swiss parent, FIFA.

Infantino and FIFA have not been charged with wrongdoing.

The plan envisaged selling a permanent stake in commercial and operational rights connected to the World Cup and other FIFA events to private investors.

Several European federations, including England's and Italy's, have withdrawn their backing for Infantino since the collapse of his proposal.

Infantino's proposal to sell a 20 percent stake in FIFA competitions to private investors was abandoned in July following widespread opposition from football's regional confederations.

The French Football Federation is withdrawing its support for Gianni Infantino's re-election bid as FIFA president.

US Soccer said it accepted the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and was pleased that Folarin Balogun was eligible to compete.

Belgium's football federation withdrew its support for Gianni Infantino's bid to run for a fourth term as FIFA president.

The RBFA asked FIFA to place the Balogun case on the agenda for the next FIFA Council meeting on October 15.

Gianni Infantino has confirmed his intention to run for re-election as FIFA President.

The winner of the FIFA presidential election requires 106 votes from 211 FIFA member nations.

FIFA presidents are limited to three terms in office, with each term lasting four years.

UEFA had support from the Asian Football Confederation and North American football body CONCACAF in opposing the plan.

The initial money from investors was to pay offers of $20m to each of FIFA's 211 member federations.

A court filing by FIFA on Thursday accused UEFA of running a smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership.

FIFA aborted the investor plans in response to the backlash.

UEFA, the AFC, and CONCACAF issued a joint letter on August 10.

FIFA's filings argued that UEFA does not have the right to demand FIFA internal documents because no criminal proceedings yet exist in Switzerland or elsewhere.

Thierry Henry said players have more power than they think they have.

No alternative candidate had declared their candidacy for the next Fifa presidential vote as of the article's publication.

Reports emerged of Gianni Infantino's effort to sell the World Cup's commercial rights.

Platini criticized the hydration breaks at the World Cup, which often lasted as much as four minutes and were used by the host broadcaster for advertisements.

Michel Platini said FIFA president Gianni Infantino must go.

Platini accuses Infantino, Villiger, and Scala of a criminal conspiracy to commit false accusation, influence peddling, and aiding and abetting influence peddling.

UEFA said investors would have paid $4.2bn for a stake in FIFA Forward Enterprise, valuing the business at about $20bn.

UEFA is considering criminal proceedings against Infantino over a now-abandoned plan to transfer commercial rights into a new subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).

UEFA asked a federal court in the United States for permission to obtain testimony and documents from FIFA entities in Florida for a planned criminal complaint in Switzerland against FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Infantino abandoned a plan to secure private investment in FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup.

Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso, Ivan Ramiro Cordoba, and Jared Borgetti posted messages of support for Infantino on Tuesday night.

UEFA said it would formally withdraw its threat to boycott FIFA competitions after receiving assurances that Infantino's failed sell-off plan will not be revived.

Schaefer said the FIFA peace prize decision was taken without informing the council.

Infantino will be seeking re-election for a fourth term next year.

Claudius Schaefer is the president of European Leagues.

FIFA set a November 18 deadline for candidates to enter the presidential contest.

Gianni Infantino's plan was for a $20bn subsidiary controlling FIFA commercial rights, including the World Cup.

The spinoff proposed by Infantino was to be 20 percent owned by investors led by a New York fund created by Joshua Kushner.

Eto'o suggested the backlash against Infantino was timed around FIFA's upcoming presidential election.

Samuel Eto'o has expressed support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Eto'o said he does not think Infantino has done anything wrong.

CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani asked Infantino not to attend a youth football tournament in the Dominican Republic.

The football associations of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Faroe Islands met in Helsinki and backed calls from three major regional confederations for Infantino to resign.

Denmark's football association pledged to seek a credible alternative candidate to Infantino in the March presidential election.

FIFA directly provides regional bodies such as the CFU with up to $5 million during each four-year World Cup cycle.

Zurich-based COO Kevin Lamour was fired.

Montagliani, Aleksander Ceferin, and Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa aligned in an effort to end Infantino's presidency.

The Oceania confederation executive committee will meet on the following Wednesday to discuss their approach.

The proposal promised a dividend of $20 million to $40 million at the start of next year for each national body which backed the plan.

Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Philippines have declared their loyalty to Infantino.

Neither Wenger nor Grafström directly named Infantino or offered support for him.

Wenger said the decision to withdraw the project was "absolutely necessary" and that he believes in an independent FIFA.

The plan would have created a subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) to run the money-making parts of FIFA's work.

The Swedish soccer federation confirmed that UEFA is actively looking to come up with an alternative candidate for FIFA president.

Infantino's proposal sought to raise $4.2 billion from investors including the New York investment firm of Joshua Kushner.

The proposal was dropped early Saturday after media reports provoked a global furor.

UEFA stated that Infantino has failed to use associations' money for the benefit of the game.

Concacaf released a statement condemning Infantino's investment plan and questioning his leadership.

UEFA described Infantino's investment plan as a 'shabby, back room, opaque deal.'

Thrive Eternal, a fund run by Joshua Kushner-founded Thrive Capital, is expected to lead the proposed investor group.

CONCACAF rejected the proposal during a meeting on Thursday but did not issue a boycott threat.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino offered each member association increased funding if they agreed to the proposal by mid-September.

Infantino wrote that it is his duty and responsibility as FIFA president to present game-changing opportunities to the members.

If Infantino's plan is rejected, members will get their previously promised $10 million over the next four years.

The proposal is backed by Joshua Kushner's investment firm Thrive Capital.

FIFA is currently a Swiss-based not-for-profit association of its 211 national member federations worldwide.

European soccer body UEFA opposed the plan.

FIFA is working with J.P. Morgan on the project.