08/01/26 05:35:00
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08/01 05:33 CDT UEFA says it has lost confidence in FIFA's Infantino after
failed private equity plan for World Cup
UEFA says it has lost confidence in FIFA's Infantino after failed private
equity plan for World Cup
NYON, Switzerland (AP) --- UEFA says it has lost confidence in FIFA President
Gianni Infantino and that "no option should be off the table" as it will pursue
a full review of his now abandoned plan to sell stakes of the World Cup to
private equity investors.
Infantino was forced to scrap the plan early Saturday after his senior adviser
who sat on a White House panel resigned and Asia's soccer body joined Europe
and North America in opposing it.
Infantino had proposed creating a $20 billion company to run the World Cup with
private investors, but drew backlash that grew every day since Tuesday's
announcement.
"We must identify those responsible and hold them to account," UEFA said on
Saturday. "No option should be off the table. The current FIFA leadership has
not only lost UEFA's confidence but also that of many other members of the
football family."
The governing body of European soccer, headed by Aleksander ?eferin, issued its
blistering statement hours after FIFA announced it was withdrawing its private
equity plan.
"We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track
timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the
game," UEFA said.
"It is right that, in the coming days and weeks, UEFA will work with its
associations and in close cooperation with other confederations to reflect on
how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again."
UEFA's 55-member nations agreed to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA
competitions over Infantino's plan on Thursday. North America's CONCACAF and
the Asian Football Confederation also said they opposed the plan.
Infantino's senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker who
represented the soccer body on the White House Task Force for the World Cup,
resigned on Friday and urged other senior FIFA staff to speak out.
"I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,"
Cordeiro said in a statement, just hours after FIFA insisted: "Nobody is
selling football."
Hours later, FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour issued a statement to
The Associated Press, saying FIFA staff were deceived by Infantino's lack of
openness in planning the sale over recent months and that the project must not
continue.
Infantino has proposed spinning off 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.
The "anchor investor," described by FIFA, is a New York-based investment firm
created by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of U.S. President Donald Trump's
son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and AP World Cup coverage
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