FIFA falls apart over Infantino’s $20bn sell-off deal linked to Trump; adviser resigns

Crisis in the football body erupted after Infantino proposed excising FIFA’s commercial businesses – including World Cups and Club World Cups for men and women – into a $20 billion subsidiary with 20% owned by private investors linked to US President Donald Trump.

Two senior FIFA officials have ruthlessly criticised President Gianni Infantino for his proposal to sell off a stake in the World Cup with one resigning as a presidential adviser and a second saying staff were deceived by Infantino in the project that must not go ahead.

Crisis in the football body erupted after Infantino proposed excising FIFA’s commercial businesses – including World Cups and Club World Cups for men and women – into a $20 billion subsidiary with 20% owned by private investors linked to US President Donald Trump.

The “anchor investor,” described by FIFA in the proposed deal is a New York-based investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Trump said on Friday that he never spoke to Infantino about the deal now dealing a deadly blow to Infantino’s 11-year presidency.

Political Economist reports that Infantino had been rebuked for being less professional during the 2026 World where he appeared to be taking orders from Trump. Some critics tagged it the worst World Cup because of what they perceive as undue meddlesomeness by Trump.

Carlos Cordeiro, who represented the soccer body on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned in protest at the private equity plan.

“I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker, said in a statement announcing his resignation as adviser to FIFA president. He urged other senior FIFA staff to speak out.

FIFA’s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour  also in a statement said staff were “deceived” by Infantino’s lack of openness planning the private investor scheme and “deserve better than contempt and intimidation.”

“It is the project of one person,” Lamour, a long-time colleague of Infantino at both FIFA and UEFA, wrote. “Not only must this project not go ahead … but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.

“And if that means I lose my job, then so be it. I will understand and respect that decision. At least I’ll sleep well tonight,” the French man said.

Cordeiro who often joined Infantino on working visits to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in recent years said: “Let me be clear. I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally,” Cordeiro, the former U.S. Soccer Federation president sai.

He tagged the $20 billion commercial subsidiary “a bad deal for football.”

“Football has been central to my life, and after more than 35 years in banking, I understand both the value of this asset and the consequences of giving part of it away” he said. “That is why this proposal should be rejected.”

Asia’s soccer body has also opposed the investor plan and said FIFA must urgently review its management style

The Asian Football Confederation said it “stands in solidarity” with UEFA and CONCACAF, the first two continental bodies to oppose Infantino whose combined 90 FIFA member countries near a majority of the 211 global total.

“Football should never have been placed in such a position,” said the Asian soccer body, which counts 46 of FIFA’s 211 members.

CONMEBOL, the governing body of South American football, was the last to issue a statement. On Friday afternoon, the organization confirmed that upon learning of the proposal it consulted its member associations to evaluate the matter “with the rigour it demands.”

“FIFA already has access to extraordinary financial resources. The organization sits on billions of dollars in reserves and no debt,” Cordeiro said, stressing FIFA’s revenue of $15 billion over the last four years tied to the men’s World Cup just ended.

“Against that backdrop, selling a permanent stake in football’s most valuable asset to raise $4.2 billion makes little sense. It is mortgaging football’s future without any compelling justification,” he said.

Cordeiro said he shared five years working for FIFA alongside Infantino with “dedicated, principled people who care deeply about the game.”

“I hope they, too, will speak up,” he wrote, “because decisions of this magnitude should be made in the interests of football, not those who stand to profit from it.”

Additional report from Associated Press