Live blog — last updated 1 August 2026. Newest entries first.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino withdrew a plan to sell minority stakes in a commercial subsidiary controlling the men’s and women’s World Cups on 1 August 2026, seven days after it emerged.
FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) drew opposition from three confederations, a UEFA boycott threat covering all FIFA competitions, the resignation of a senior Infantino adviser, a statement from FIFA’s own chief operating officer accusing Infantino of deceiving staff, and criticism from the UK prime minister.
1 August 2026 — UEFA declares it has lost confidence in Infantino
UEFA issued a statement on 1 August, after the withdrawal, saying Infantino had lost its confidence and calling the proposal a “shabby, back-room deal.” “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. “We must identify those responsible and hold them to account.”
UEFA said it would work with its associations and other confederations in the coming days and weeks on a review that “should be thorough and fundamental,” with “no option off the table,” and added that FIFA’s leadership had lost the confidence of “many other members of the football family.” UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin did not attend the 2026 World Cup final.
1 August 2026 – Infantino withdraws the plan
FIFA released a statement from Infantino late on 31 July, carried by wire services on 1 August, confirming FFE will not proceed. “Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,” Infantino said. “Our purpose has always been — and will always be — to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”
Infantino said he would meet member associations, confederations and other stakeholders in the coming days and weeks to continue discussions on funding. AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa welcomed the withdrawal. The 19 September deadline football’s governing body had set for members to opt in will not now be used.
31 July 2026 — Trump denies discussing the plan with Infantino
US President Donald Trump, speaking at a cabinet meeting, said he had not spoken to Infantino about the sell-off plan, his first public comment on it. Football’s governing body had said it consulted the Trump administration on the proposal. Trump and Infantino developed a close relationship after Trump took office for a second term in 2025.
31 July 2026 — Burnham calls Infantino “the wrong man” to lead FIFA
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham told reporters Infantino was “the wrong man to lead the organisation” and called the proposal “an outrageous suggestion.” Burnham had described football’s governing body as “sell-outs” earlier in the week. “The World Cup is not a product,” he wrote on X.
“It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone’s to sell. Dress the deal up however you like. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out.”
31 July 2026 — FIFA COO says staff were “deceived”
Kevin Lamour, FIFA’s chief operating officer and a longtime colleague of Infantino at both FIFA and UEFA, told the Associated Press that staff at football’s governing body had been deceived over the plan. “To put it very clearly and directly: the project that has sparked so much controversy and debate is not a FIFA project. It is even less a project of FIFA’s administration. It is the project of one person,” Lamour said.
He said FIFA’s own administration had been deceived alongside the confederations, federations, players, leagues and clubs, describing “a lie by omission over many months.” Lamour said the project must not proceed and added: “And if that means I lose my job, then so be it. I will understand and respect that decision. At least I’ll sleep well tonight.”
31 July 2026 — Cordeiro resigns as Infantino adviser
Carlos Cordeiro resigned as senior adviser to Infantino, the first senior FIFA official to quit over the plan. “I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro said. “I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally. It is a bad deal for FIFA’s Member Associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game.”
Cordeiro said selling a permanent stake to raise $4.2bn would “mortgage football’s future” when FIFA holds billions of dollars in reserves and no debt. Cordeiro is a former Goldman Sachs banker with 35 years in the industry, a former US Soccer Federation president, and sat on the White House World Cup task force.
31 July 2026 — AFC rejects the plan, pushing opposition past a blocking majority
The Asian Football Confederation and its 47 member associations declined to support FFE in solidarity with UEFA and CONCACAF, taking the confederations opposed to 143 member associations. The AFC said the plan could not “realistically achieve the necessary broad consensus and unity required to move forward” and called on FIFA to undertake an urgent review of its governance.
An unnamed senior official told The Telegraph the AFC intervention was the “killer punch” and the deal was “dead and buried.” The National calculated the three confederations left Infantino a maximum of around 75 votes, short of the 106-vote simple majority of FIFA’s 211 members required to pass the plan. The two confederations yet to declare were Africa’s CAF (54 members) and Oceania’s OFC (11 members); the OFC said it would address the proposal at its executive committee in August.
30 July 2026 (evening) — FIFA defends the plan
FIFA issued an overnight statement rejecting the criticism. “Nobody is selling football. This is not something FIFA would ever entertain,” it said, blaming “incorrect media reports” for the reaction and reaffirming the consultation process.
FIFA said that without the support of a majority of member associations its commercial activities would remain unchanged and FFE would not be established, and that no single entity could claim to represent all 211 associations.
In its clarification, FIFA said each association would receive $20m in Forward funding for 2027-2030 regardless of its vote, and that the $20m Fast Forward payment was voluntary and financed by external investment.
30 July 2026 — CONCACAF rejects the plan
CONCACAF‘s 41 member associations rejected the plan after a meeting, without stating a willingness to boycott. CONCACAF cited “deep concerns about the lack of due process,” the short deadline, and the absence of review by FIFA governance bodies. It questioned the need for private investment “following the most profitable FIFA World Cup in history.” The rejection took confirmed opposition to 96 member associations.
30 July 2026 — Nandy backs the UEFA boycott
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the UEFA decision was “a principled decision that we strongly support.” She added: “Football belongs to the fans, not billionaire investors. Enough is enough.”
30 July 2026 — UEFA votes to boycott all FIFA competitions
UEFA held an emergency online meeting of its 55 member associations and voted 55-0 to boycott the 2030 World Cup and all other FIFA competitions if FFE proceeds. “UEFA and its 55 member associations stand as one,” UEFA said. “The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product… The World Cup is not for sale.”
The immediate events exposed to a boycott include the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland from 5 September and the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The 2030 men’s World Cup is co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with opening matches in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
29 July 2026 — Burnham’s first intervention; English FA “deeply concerned”
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham wrote on X: “Football does not belong to investors,” becoming the first prominent world leader to condemn the plan. The English Football Association said it was “deeply concerned about the lack of process and governance” and had been “completely unaware” of the proposal.
Let me say this very directly.
Football does not belong to investors. It belongs to the people who fill the stands and who stand on the touchline week in, week out, rain or shine.
The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never…
— Andy Burnham (@andyburnham) July 28, 2026
29 July 2026 — Czech FA breaks ranks in support
Czech Football Association president David Trunda said he saw “pragmatic benefits” in working with Infantino, breaking from UEFA’s position. Trunda said the investment would have a “positive impact” in funding football operations in the Czech Republic. The Czech association scheduled a meeting for 11 August to determine its vote.
28 July 2026 — UEFA rejects the plan: “not FIFA’s to sell”
UEFA condemned the proposal within hours of the announcement. “It is not FIFA’s to sell,” the European governing body said, adding that none of football’s institutions own the game and accusing FIFA of “attempting to sell the soul of football.” UEFA said it was considering its legal position. CONCACAF said it learned of the plan through media reports and was “deeply concerned by the lack of due process.”
28 July 2026 — The investor group
Thrive Eternal, a permanent capital holding company, was named as the expected lead investor. Joshua Kushner launched the fund in April 2026 through Thrive Capital; he is the brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. J.P. Morgan produced the $20bn valuation and was engaged to run the process of bringing in further investors, subject to FIFA approval. Greg Maffei, the former Liberty Media CEO who oversaw its ownership of Formula One, was named as a commercial adviser. Jared Kushner is not among the investors.
28 July 2026 — FIFA announces the World Cup sell-off
FIFA confirmed plans to create FFE, a subsidiary consolidating broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing rights with the operational delivery of its tournaments, following reports in The Times and the Financial Times. Infantino set out the plan in a five-page letter to FIFA’s 211 member presidents.
FFE would raise up to $4.2bn at an initial equity valuation of $20bn by selling minority, non-controlling interests of around 20%, with FIFA retaining minimum ownership of about 80%. FIFA said each association could receive up to $40m: Forward development funding would rise to $20m per association for 2027-2030, from a budgeted $8m, then $22m for 2031-2034 and $24m for 2035-2038, alongside an optional one-off $20m through a new FIFA Fast Forward Programme.
The $20m Forward funding would be paid regardless of an association’s vote; the $20m Fast Forward sum was voluntary and financed by the external investment, taking the combined figure to $40m. FIFA set a 19 September deadline for members to opt into the Fast Forward payment and said the package could take total planned development funding above $10bn.
Approval required a simple majority of 106 of the 211 members. National leagues receive nothing under the plan. FIFA Council members were not consulted before the plan became public, according to The Times.
27 July 2026 — Infantino posts a 15-slide defence of the 2026 World Cup
Infantino published a 15-slide Instagram post telling critics to “meditate, pray, or watch a football match” rather than direct energy at FIFA. He defended the tournament’s disciplinary decisions and called the 2026 World Cup the best show in the world. Spain won the final 1-0 against Argentina at MetLife Stadium on 19 July.
