FIFA Drops Plan to Sell World Cup Stake After Backlash

Most countries would have boycotted the World Cup.

FIFA's plan to sell a 20% stake in the World Cup surprised many, but its collapse is not a shock.

FIFA's boss, Gianni Infantino, made a deal with a private equity firm without telling his team. The firm would give FIFA $4.2 billion for part of the World Cup. This made many people upset, including a FIFA adviser who quit.

Infantino couldn't get UEFA, which has 55 countries, to agree with the deal. Other groups also didn't like the plan. They all said they would boycott FIFA events.

Infantino changed his mind about the plan after many people got upset.

FIFA will not sell parts of the World Cup.

The plan failed because it would have hurt the World Cup. The idea of serving fans and teams didn't work, but the thought of losing money did.

We don't know how the private equity investment would have changed the World Cup.

FIFA says it won't sell the World Cup after many people complained.

FIFA had a plan for a $20 billion operation to run the World Cup, but UEFA in Europe was very upset.

The private equity firm, Thrive, is led by Joshua Kushner. His brother is married to the daughter of a US President who is friends with Infantino. If Thrive invested in FIFA, it would expect to make more money back.

Private equity firms make money by selling assets, but FIFA doesn't own the stadiums where the World Cup is played.

FIFA has many commercial partners who pay to be part of the World Cup. They might have to pay more if a private equity firm owned part of the World Cup.

What about the fans?

Fans already pay a lot for World Cup tickets. If a private equity firm owned part of the World Cup, fans might have to pay even more.

People were very upset about FIFA's plan.

Infantino might have changed his mind because of the backlash, not because he cares about the fans.

The 2026 World Cup showed that drama can be interesting.

Infantino wants to expand the World Cup to 64 teams. But if many countries boycott, it would be hard to find enough good teams.

If Europe, North America, and Asia didn't participate, the World Cup would be very different. Many big teams and stars would be missing.

Would you watch a game between a small team and a weaker team from a big country?

No, probably not.

A UEFA boycott would hurt the World Cup's value and its ability to make money.

It would be very bad.

We need a stronger word to describe how bad it would be.

Maybe 'torpedo' is a good word.

Infantino had to back down.

Infantino said he listened to everyone and decided not to go ahead with the plan. He said his goal is to unite and improve the World Cup.

Infantino didn't say sorry for the plan or the trouble it caused. He seemed to blame others for not liking his idea.

The plan is over.

FIFA might have stopped the plan because it was the right thing to do, or because countries threatened to leave. Maybe the people who would have invested $4.2 billion realized it wasn't a good idea.

The private equity deal is off, and FIFA needs to find another way to make more money than the $15 billion from the 2026 World Cup. Maybe it can focus on giving value to its partners and fans instead of taking it from them.

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