Football has a civil war brewing, and it’s all about money.
On Tuesday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino dropped a bombshell: he wants to sell minority stakes in the World Cup and other FIFA events to private investors. The plan reportedly centers on an investment fund called Thrive Eternal, led by Joshua Kushner — brother of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law. Infantino gave FIFA’s 211 member federations until September 19 to get on board.
The backlash was immediate and brutal.
UEFA didn’t hold back. Europe’s governing body, representing all 55 of its members, voted unanimously to boycott FIFA — World Cups included — unless the private investment plan is scrapped. Their statement pulled no punches: the proposal was “conceived in secret,” and “the World Cup is not for sale.”
CONCACAF said no too. The 41-member confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean rejected the plan outright, slamming the lack of transparency and the rushed deadline. They stopped short of threatening a boycott, though.
Asia joined the chorus. The AFC backed UEFA and CONCACAF’s concerns, warning that the whole situation “should concern everyone who cares about the future of our game.” Notably, the AFC also called for FIFA to overhaul its governance entirely.
Mexico is still deciding. The Mexican federation says it needs more time to study the proposal before taking a side.
Africa, South America, and Oceania haven’t voted yet — no dates announced.
Meanwhile, FIFA isn’t backing down. In a statement Friday, the organization blamed “incorrect media reports” for disrupting its consultation process and said it would push ahead regardless.
Things got worse for Infantino on Friday when his own senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, resigned over the plan — a sign that cracks are forming even inside FIFA’s own ranks.
Why this matters: UEFA alone represents the wealthiest, most powerful leagues in the world — the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A. Add in opposition from Asia and North America, and Infantino is staring down a revolt from most of football’s power brokers.
Two deadlines now hang over this mess. First, September 19 — Infantino’s cutoff for support. Second, the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup kicks off in Poland next month, the first real test of whether any of this boils over into an actual tournament boycott.
And then there’s the bigger picture: Infantino was expected to cruise to a fourth term as FIFA president through 2031, with candidates due to declare by November 18 ahead of a March vote in Rabat. After this week, an uncontested re-election looks a lot less likely.