Infantino apologizes for attempting to sell the World Cup to a private equity firm just a few months before the FIFA elections
The FIFA president acknowledged having made "mistakes" in "the communication and management" of the project, though he maintains that it was only "a proposal."
FIFA President Gianni Infantino. File photo
The president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), Gianni Infantino, apologized to the members of the organization's Executive Committee for failing to properly manage the controversial privatization project for the World Cup and the Club World Cup, which has been criticized by much of the soccer world for the leader's lack of transparency.
"First of all, I want to say that we apologize for the mistakes made in the management and communication" of this project, "which have had numerous consequences," Infantino said during a meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee.
"It is important to remember that this was a proposal, not a final decision. This proposal was simply intended to allow FIFA to invest more in its member associations, rather than replace existing resources," he added.
In late July, the press leaked a proposal led by Infantino based on the partial sale of the World Cup and Club World Cup, in both the men's and women's categories, to a subsidiary company called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), managed by JP Morgan and by Thrive Eternal, an investment fund created by Joshua Kushner—brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law and diplomatic confidant of President Donald Trump—.
In a video released by FIFA and viewed by AFP, Infantino—who would take on the role of commissioner of the FFE, establishing a governance structure similar to that of the NBA, NFL or MLB— defended his proposal, describing it as "an opportunity" to increase revenue and capitalize on the brand represented by soccer and, specifically, the aforementioned leagues.
Reactions soon began to pour in from directly affected parties, mainly in the form of criticism, due to Infantino's lack of transparency. That fervent opposition was led by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), one of the six member confederations and the most influential within the group.
The European body did not hesitate to take aim at Infantino and threatened that none of its member countries would ever again compete in a tournament organized by FIFA.
Faced with this outright rejection, Infantino had no choice but to withdraw his interests. "Having listened carefully to all opinions, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of such a nature that, regardless of the level of support it might have, they no longer serve the original objective," said the FIFA leader, who, despite backtracking, could not escape receiving countless calls for his resignation.
Nearly three months have passed since then, during which Infantino has remained silent, waiting to face the Executive Committee to apologize. This apology comes with just a few months left before the FIFA presidential election.
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