Two top FIFA officials blasted FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s plan to further commercialize the World Cup, with Infantino’s top adviser resigning and the organization’s COO calling the proposal “the project of one person.”
Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino, quit Friday and delivered a blistering statement against the plan to bring private investors into the governing body’s business.
Cordeiro is a former Goldman Sachs banker who was the president of U.S. Soccer from 2018 to 2020 and was a major link between Infantino and U.S. President Donald Trump. He issued a scathing statement on his way out the door. He said he had “no involvement” in the FIFA proposal and said “I oppose it unequivocally” because it is a “bad deal” for national federations, the sport, and the future of soccer.
“FIFA’s responsibility is not to maximize commercial returns at any cost,” Cordeiro wrote.
FIFA COO Kevin Lamour did not resign, but did tell the Associated Press that senior staff was “deceived” by Infantino’s lack of transparency and “deserve better than contempt and intimidation.”
“It is the project of one person,” said Lamour. “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.”
Lamour also said if he gets fired for speaking out, “then so be it. … At least I’ll sleep well tonight.”
The soccer leaders are the latest voices in a growing chorus questioning Infantino’s leadership this week. Infantino had been heading unopposed toward reelection in March.
On Tuesday, following several media reports detailing the plan, FIFA announced FIFA Forward Enterprise, a new $20 billion commercial engine that would house media rights, sponsorship, ticketing, licensing, and tournament operations. Part of the plan involves raising $4.2 billion from outside investors—selling a 20% stake, with Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, as the lead investor.
The billions of dollars from Kushner and others would mean national federations would each get $40 million, up from $10 million, in the upcoming World Cup cycle if the plan passes.
FIFA has access to billions of dollars without any debt, Cordeiro wrote, and already has enough money to support its federations. “Against that backdrop, selling a permanent stake in football’s most valuable asset to raise $4.2 billion makes little sense,” Cordeiro said.
The former Infantino adviser said many important questions are still remaining about how the proposal came together and how it would work, but federations are being pushed to make a decision by Sept. 19.
Cordeiro’s and Lamour’s responses come a day after UEFA and CONCACAF rejected the plan. Europe said it would boycott future FIFA tournaments as long as the proposal is alive, while the federations in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean questioned the need for outside investment after the most financially successful World Cup. Together, the two federations account for 90 FIFA federations against the plan; Infantino needs 106 of 211 countries in support for it to pass.
Amid the pressure, late Thursday night, FIFA put out a press release of “clarifications” that reaffirmed its commitment to the FFE plan, and blamed “incorrect media reports” for throwing off its “planned consultation process.”
Friday morning, the Asian Football Confederation delivered a new statement joining UEFA and CONCACAF “in expressing serious concern” about the plan and how it was announced.
“While the AFC notes FIFA’s latest clarification on the proposal, the central concerns surrounding governance, institutional process and meaningful consultation remain unanswered,” the AFC said Friday.
The AFC said “football should never have been placed in such a position” where World Cup boycotts are on the table, and said FIFA needs to “undertake an urgent review of its governance and decision-making framework.”
Should the 46 FIFA member associations of the AFC also unanimously reject the plan, Infantino would not have the votes to pass the FFE proposal.
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took office just last week said Friday that the FFE proposal shows Infantino is the “wrong man” to lead FIFA.
