Live blog – last updated 6 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.
5 August – FIFA seeks to draw line under governance row
FIFA has described talks held in Rabat between Gianni Infantino, General Secretary Mattias Grafström and senior officials as “constructive and positive”, as the organisation attempts to move on from the FIFA Forward Enterprise controversy.
Following the meeting, Infantino and Grafström sent a joint letter to FIFA Vice-Presidents and Council members reaffirming their support for one another. The letter also acknowledged that “mistakes were made” in the handling of the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise project.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the FIFA Secretary General and the Management Board in attendance reaffirm their full support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino,” the letter stated.
It added that the discussions would “strengthen FIFA’s governance, help restore confidence in the organisation and enable us to prepare for the major events and challenges ahead in a united and transparent manner”.
5 August – Infantino apologises for failed plans
Gianni Infantino has apologised for his controversial plan to sell shares in the FIFA World Cup. Since the proposal was announced, the majority of the football world has united in opposition, with several governing bodies calling for it to be withdrawn.
FIFA has now confirmed that the plans, which would have seen outside investors acquire a stake in the commercial rights of the World Cup through FIFA Forward Enterprise, are no longer being pursued.
“Furthermore, as already known, the proposal that would have been subject to the approval of the FIFA Member Associations and the FIFA Council is now off the table,” read a FIFA statement.
Calls opposing the proposal have since turned into calls for Infantino to resign, though the president has shown no signs of stepping down.
“With the project withdrawn, FIFA will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process and will take all necessary measures to protect and safeguard its name and reputation,” continued the statement.
5 August – FIFA sends scripted letters of endorsement
An exclusive report from Sky News‘ Rob Harris revealed that FIFA distributed pre-written letters to member associations endorsing Gianni Infantino’s bid for re-election as president.
According to Harris’ sources, the letters praised Infantino’s leadership during more than a decade in charge of world football and were circulated ahead of the recent World Cup.
While not every association received a letter, those that did reportedly found the name and signature of their federation president already included, with the documents intended to be returned to FIFA as an official show of support.
5 August – FIFA says Morocco reports are false
Responding to reports that FIFA offered Morocco the right to host the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for political support, the governing body described the claims as “false and misleading”.
“It is false and misleading to claim the FIFA President has made any promise in relation to hosting the FIFA World Cup 2030 Final. A decision will be made by FIFA in due course,” a FIFA statement read.
However, conflicting reports have since emerged. Multiple sources within the Royal Moroccan Football Federation told talkSPORT that discussions with Infantino over hosting the final in Casablanca have taken place.
5 August – Infantino offers 2030 World Cup final to Morocco
According to reports from Martyn Ziegler, FIFA President Gianni Infantino offered Morocco the opportunity to host the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for a public statement backing his leadership.
The tournament is set to be hosted across Spain, Portugal and Morocco. While recent reports suggested FIFA favoured Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu for the final, no official decision has been made.
The allegations come as Infantino faces mounting pressure over his abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise plans, with a growing number of member associations and football figures calling for him to step down.
5 August – Luis Figo is #InfantinoOut
Former Real Madrid and Barcelona star Luis Figo has called for FIFA President Gianni Infantino to resign.
In a post on X, Figo said Infantino had “debased the office that he promised to elevate”, lied, and attempted to “feather his own nest at the expense of the game he is supposed to serve.”
The former Portugal international also referenced US President Donald Trump, claiming Infantino had lost the support of senior FIFA staff as well as “the FIFA Peace Prize winner”, which Trump received ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Figo has his own history with FIFA, having stood for the presidency in 2015 before withdrawing and claiming the contest was “anything but an election”.
He ended his post by writing: “It is too late to save his dignity but it is not too late to save football. He should go. Now.”
5 August 2026 – Infantino calls an emergency meeting in Morocco
Infantino called an emergency meeting of senior FIFA staff in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday 5 August, as pressure on his presidency mounted. The Press Association reported the meeting would include secretary general Mattias Grafström and the FIFA management board, and that it was convened after the weekend.
Infantino was reported to be seeking to establish whether he retains the support of at least 106 of FIFA’s 211 members ahead of the March 2027 presidential election in Rabat.
4 August 2026 – Jordan FA accuses Infantino of “blackmail”
Jordan Football Association President Prince Ali bin Al Hussein accused Infantino of “blackmail,” alleging FIFA offered to help recover money owed to the Jordanian association in return for endorsing his re-election. “We did not endorse him before and certainly will not now,” Prince Ali wrote on X. “But the whole situation amounts to blackmail and we refuse to give in to that.”
Prince Ali, a former FIFA vice-president who stood against Sepp Blatter in 2015 and against Infantino in 2016, said Jordan was still owed prize money for reaching the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup final and cited visa refusals for fans and a US tax burden on players at the 2026 World Cup. FIFA declined to comment.
There is no shortage of issues regarding FIFA. Let me start by clarifying what some of these are from an FA perspective, in particular that of Jordan going into a World Cup for the first time.
We are a small country with a minimal budget for our FA and had to deal with enormous…— Ali Al Hussein (@AliBinAlHussein) August 4, 2026
4 August – Arsene Wenger declares he was not involved in FFE
Former Arsenal Manager and current FIFA Chief of Global Football Development, Arsene Wenger, has confirmed in his first comments about FFE he was not involved in the proposal.
“I was not involved in this strategic plan and first became aware of the project through media reports,” said Wenger.
“The decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and beyond question, because I firmly believe in an independent Fifa that serves our game with commitment, transparency, and integrity.”
Wenger is among 18 other FIFA delegates as part of UEFA’s preservation letter.
4 August – FIFA Secretary General calls for unity
Mattias Grafstrom, Secretary General of FIFA, said the World Cup selloff plans were a “sad and reproachable series of events” inside an internal staff message obtained by Sky News.
Grafstrom said: “We have all been thrown into the middle of a turmoil, which is difficult to comprehend and accept, but, as Secretary General, I urge you to remain focused on what has always united us: serving football and serving our 211 Member Associations, hand in hand with all relevant stakeholders and in full compliance with the FIFA Statutes and FIFA Regulations.”
3 August – Infantino asks Trump to save him
FIFA refuted claims FIFA President Infantino reached out to US President Donald Trump in a bid to save his job from mounting pressure coming from members associations.
The Times reported Infantino had reached out to the US Department of State, but FIFA said in a statement that the report was “pure fiction”.
“The FIFA President has not made any call to the US President, or any members of his administration, in recent days. It is pure fiction.”
3 August – English FA set to vote no confidence in Infantino
The English Football Association (The FA) is set to file their written notice to FIFA and Infantino that they will not support him for another term as President.
The English FA followed the Wales FA and the Serbian FA to submit their intention to vote no confidence in Infantino following his plans to sell off stakes of the World Cup, with more FIFA association members set to follow suit.
3 August – UEFA threatens legal action against FIFA
UEFA has been considering legal action against FIFA over the FFE saga after a preservation letter was sent on 1 August, and seen by reporters on 3 August.
The letter stated UEFA is “actively considering legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints arising out of and in connection with the FFE plan proposed by FIFA and all related matters”. This follows the organisation’s commitment to finding a candidate to go against Infantino’s Presidency.
1 August 2026 – CONCACAF calls for “a comprehensive reckoning” with Infantino’s presidency
CONCACAF and its 41 member associations welcomed the withdrawal but issued a statement later on Saturday attacking FIFA’s leadership. “A proposal of this magnitude does not reach that stage by accident. It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first,” CONCACAF said. “This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behaviour.
A comprehensive reckoning with this presidency is imperative.” CONCACAF said FIFA is “not a private enterprise” and that those who serve it carry “a duty of service over power,” adding: “Where that duty is not upheld, accountability cannot be optional.” It credited the media with bringing the issue “out of the shadows and into the light.”
1 August 2026 – Qatar FA backs Infantino
The Qatar Football Association welcomed the withdrawal and reaffirmed its support for Infantino, the second association to back him publicly after the Czech Republic. “We welcome FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s decision to withdraw the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal in the interest of the global football community,” QFA president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani said.
“While the proposal had merit, we applaud the wisdom behind prioritising unity among Member Associations. The Qatar Football Association fully supports President Infantino’s efforts to continue growing and strengthening the game globally.”
1 August 2026 – Infantino reportedly stood to earn about $30m from the entity
Infantino stood to earn a salary of about $30m a year plus bonuses to lead the FFE commercial company, The Times reported, citing whistleblowers. Martyn Ziegler of The Times, who first revealed the FFE plan, reported the figure after the withdrawal. FIFA pays its president about 4.8m Swiss francs a year; Infantino received $4.6m in 2025, according to FIFA’s financial report.
Infantino has repeatedly said he would not personally enrich himself through the project. The Times reported he could have become FFE’s commissioner after his presidency ends in 2031, with compensation potentially comparable to the roughly $64m a year paid to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
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 – 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.
