Key FIFA official Carlos Cordeiro 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 FIFA president Gianni Infantino and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Cordeiro is the latest voice in a growing chorus of soccer leaders questioning Infantino’s leadership this week. Infantino had been heading unopposed toward reelection in March.
Cordeiro 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.
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 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 ex-Infantino advisor said that 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 September 19.
Cordeiro’s response, which was reported early Friday, comes 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 ever. 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 their “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 on 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.”
If the 36 AFC FIFA members also reject the plan, it will not have the votes to pass.
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Friday that the FFE proposal shows Infantino is the “wrong man” to lead FIFA. Burham, who only took office last week, also made a statement against the plan earlier in the week.
