Gianni Infantino faces revolt after secret £3.1bn World Cup plan revealed
Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s president, has seen his standing at the governing body collapse in the two weeks following the World Cup after a succession of disclosures and internal rebellions that have left him fighting to keep his job. The episode began with a 15-page Instagram post from Infantino marking the end of the tournament and escalated when a major media report revealed a secret £3.1bn proposal linked to private investors.
Infantino’s Instagram post described the tournament as a month of “joy and happiness” and accused “those sitting behind their pens and papers, behind their screens, spreading hate and false rumours” about greed and his relationship with Donald Trump, urging journalists to “take a moment to reflect, meditate, pray or watch a match”. Hours later the Times published details of a plan allegedly designed to sell stakes in the World Cup, a scheme that involved the brother of Jared Kushner and, according to the reporting, could have generated substantial personal earnings for Infantino. He acknowledged the plan was real but characterised it as a “proposal, an offer … part of a democratic process, a consultation”, while Fifa had reportedly given its 211 member associations a 19 September deadline to back the idea or forfeit a £15m payment.
The Guardian later published the full plan, which it said had been drawn up by Fifa and the US bank JP Morgan; the bank described Fifa as “undermonetized” in the documents. That disclosure prompted Uefa to convene an emergency meeting where all 55 members agreed to boycott Fifa competitions if the scheme proceeded, and other confederations and bodies joined the backlash. Concacaf said it was “only made aware of this matter through media reports”, and Uefa accused Fifa officials of “using our sport to enrich themselves and their friends”.
In the United States a senior Democrat warned of possible congressional scrutiny, with Jamie Raskin calling the affair “a smash-and-grab scam of colossal proportions”. Domestically, criticism mounted rapidly: Fifa’s chief operating officer publicly condemned the proposal and Andy Burnham became the first head of a major nation to call for Infantino’s resignation. President Trump denied involvement, saying “I never spoke to him.”
Fifa initially blamed the press, stating: “Our planned consultation process was disrupted by incorrect media reports. We will proceed with this consultation … Nobody is selling football.” The association did not proceed with the consultation, and Infantino subsequently issued a statement withdrawing the plan “having listened carefully to all the views”. Uefa responded that the Fifa leadership had “lost our confidence … We must identify those responsible and hold them to account … No option should be off the table.” Qatar’s FA issued a statement saying it “fully supports president Infantino’s efforts to continue growing and strengthening the game”.
Support for Infantino among some members began to dissolve as a coordinated withdrawal of backing took shape. England, Wales and Serbia joined Finland and Sweden in demanding change, while lawyers acting for Uefa ordered Infantino and his staff to preserve all documents related to the collapsed proposal and said Uefa was “considering legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints”. The New York Post reported Infantino had “repeatedly tried” to call Trump but that Trump was not answering, and Sepp Blatter posted: “Money matters, but it must never become everything. #GianniInfantino”. A leaked email from Infantino’s No 2, Mattias Grafström, described the plan as a “sad and reproachable series of events”.
Other federations shifted position amid further allegations: Greece withdrew its support, and Jordan’s Prince Ali bin al-Hussein accused Infantino’s administration of “blackmail”, alleging Fifa had threatened to withhold financial assistance if his federation refused to back the president’s bid for re-election. Infantino convened a Fifa staff crisis meeting in Morocco and Fifa issued a statement saying staff had given him unanimous backing and that “It was agreed that Fifa will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity.” Former Portugal player Luís Figo wrote in the Daily Mail: “Infantino has lied, deceived and tried to feather his own nest … It is too late to save his dignity but it is not too late to save football. He should go. Now.” Uefa said the Fifa staff announcement “changes nothing.” The global players’ union Fifpro added that while the scheme had been dropped, “the abuse of power that produced it is not … Reforms, not a cover-up, are urgently needed.”
A number of federations moved to back Infantino even as criticism continued: Mexico and Argentina followed Africa’s governing body in rallying round, while Norway’s FA called for him to go and filed a fresh ethics complaint alleging breaches of Fifa’s rules on political neutrality. Infantino took a brief break and travelled to Colombia for the inauguration of the hard-right president Abelardo de la Espriella, a key Trump ally, where he told an audience: “It is a joy to be here today. Football is joy, football is happiness, football is unity.”
Amid defections, legal threats and public denunciations, the Concacaf president, Victor Montagliani, has emerged as a leading contender to challenge for the Fifa presidency.