ФИФА-гийн арилжааны үйл ажиллагааны хувьцааг худалдах төлөвлөгөөг эсэргүүцсэн холбоодын дарамт шахалт болон дотоод асуудлууд Жанни Инфантиног хүнд байдалд орууллаа.
Европын хөлбөмбөгийн холбоо (УЕФА), КОНКАКАФ болон Азийн хөлбөмбөгийн холбоо (АХХ) уг саналыг эрс эсэргүүцэж байгаагаа илэрхийлсэн бөгөөд УЕФА-гийн гишүүн 55 орны холбоо ФИФА-гийн тэмцээнүүдийг бойкотлохоо мэдэгдлээ. ФИФА-гаас “хөлбөмбөгийг худалдахгүй” гэсэн тайлбар хийсэн ч гишүүн холбоодын 137 нь уг төлөвлөгөөний эсрэг байр суурьтай байна.
Энэхүү маргаантай үед Инфантиногийн зөвлөх Карлос Кордейро төлөвлөгөөг хөлбөмбөгийн ирээдүйд хор хөнөөлтэй хэмээн шүүмжилж албан тушаалаасаа огцорсон байна. ФИФА-гийн үйл ажиллагаа хариуцсан захирал Кевин Ламур ч мөн уг төсөл нь нэг хүний ашиг сонирхолд нийцсэн гэж үзэн, ажилтнууд хууртсан хэмээн мэдэгдэж, хатуу байр суурь илэрхийллээ.
ФИФА 2026 оны долдугаар сарын 31-ний өдөр 4.2 тэрбум долларын хөрөнгө оруулалт татах зорилгоор “FIFA Forward Enterprises” нэртэй шинэ нэгж байгуулах төлөвлөгөөгөө зарласан юм. Гэвч уг асуудлаар есдүгээр сарын 19-нөөс өмнө шийдвэр гаргах шаардлагатай байгаа нь Инфантиногийн манлайлал болон итгэлцлийн асуудлыг хөндөхөд хүргэв. Норвегийн хөлбөмбөгийн холбооны ерөнхийлөгч Лизе Клавенесс удирдлагын зарчим алдагдсанаас үүдэн ФИФА-гийн тэргүүнд итгэх итгэл суларсныг онцоллоо.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
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FIFA has held top-level discussions in the past 24 hours about how Gianni Infantino can backtrack on his plot to sell a stake in its commercial and event operations while seeking to hold down his position as president.
Infantino’s secret plan has attracted major opposition from UEFA, CONCACAF and Asia, with the European confederation saying all 55 of its members would boycott FIFA competitions, including World Cups, if the proposal remains on the table.
FIFA responded with a statement at 4.12am BST on Friday (11.12pm ET Thursday), in which it insisted “nobody is selling football” and that while it “acknowledges and respects feedback and concern aired in public”, it would press on with the proposals, adding that it “reaffirms its commitment to an open and democratic consultation.”
But no sooner had it done that when the Asian federation (AFC) followed up with a statement saying it stood in solidarity with UEFA and Concacaf, the North and Central American confederation.
Infantino was then dealt two seismic internal blows.
First his adviser Carlos Cordeiro quit his role, eviscerating the plan in a statement, which said it was “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.”
Then FIFA’s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour told The Associated Press that staff had been “deceived” by Infantino and that he would be able to sleep well by speaking out on the matter, even if it meant losing his job.
“It is the project of one person,” Lamour said. “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.”
Those developments have dragged Infantino into a corner and FIFA has been giving serious consideration to abandoning or watering down the project, leaving many within the organization to believe it is when, rather than if, the cord will be cut.
As of Friday night, Joshua Kushner’s venture capital firm Thrive had not pulled out of the deal, but the matter was with FIFA’s leadership as it weighed whether to double down once again or pull the plug.
Kushner has been at the centre of Infantino’s plans (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
CONMEBOL, South America’s football confederation, issued a statement late on Friday which did not reject the plans but said that financial and commercial decisions “must always serve the interests of football and never take precedence over its essence.”
The three federations which went on record against FIFA’s plan consist of 137 of the 211 FIFA member associations. FIFA had said it would need a majority of its 211 member associations and approval from its 37-strong FIFA Council — which includes Infantino and the eight FIFA vice presidents — in order for the proposal to advance.
World football’s governing body has received significant backlash since announcing on Tuesday that it wanted to set up a new private entity — FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE) — which would run its main events, such as the World Cups and Club World Cups, and that it was looking to sell a 21 per cent minority stake in FFE to outside investors.
That sale would aim to bring in $4.2billion (£3.2bn), which FIFA said could be immediately released to its 211 member associations as part of a new funding stream called the FIFA Fast-Forward Programme (FFFP).
Under the plan, FIFA’s total development funding would top $10bn over the next four years. FIFA confirmed that if member associations are opposed to the FFE plan but the proposal passes, those opposed will still receive $20million (£14.9m) each in the 2027-30 cycle (followed by $22m in 2031-34 and $24m in 2035-38), irrespective of whether any stake in FFE is sold to private investors.
However, if that member association agrees to the FFE proposal, it will receive $40million in 2027-30, with the subsequent payments to remain the same.
UEFA’s 55 members — which include England, Spain, France and Germany — agreed to boycott FIFA tournaments while the FFE proposal existed (Harold Cunningham / AFP via Getty Images)
In a letter sent to associations, whichThe Athletichas seen, FIFA president Infantino says a decision on the proposal must be made by September 19 in order for any future funds to be available from January 1.
The Athleticreported that Infantino’s future leadership of FIFA was questioned during the meetings of UEFA and Concacaf on Thursday. Infantino has been FIFA president since succeeding Sepp Blatter in February 2016, and had been expected to stand unopposed in the next election in March 2027.
“My clear impression at the moment is that he has lost a great deal of trust,” Lise Klaveness, the president of the Norwegian Football Federation, told VG. “We didn’t vote for him last time, and we’ve been sceptical about this. There are many good things about FIFA, but if you take a lax approach to governance principles and rules, you quickly lose trust.”
