Infantino faces FIFA rebels in Zurich after failed World Cup stake sale

Key points

• Gianni Infantino meets FIFA Council in Zurich after his plan to sell a stake in FIFA tournaments collapsed.
• Leaders of UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF have called for Infantino to resign over the failed scheme.
• FIFA plans a $6.35bn development fund for 2026-2030, with $25m for each of its 211 federations.

Gianni Infantino is meeting FIFA's top brass in Zurich on Thursday for the first time since his plan to sell a stake in FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup, collapsed. Leaders of three regional confederations – UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF – have called for him to resign, and their representatives will attend the FIFA Council meeting alongside counterparts from Africa, South America and Oceania.

The 37-member council will discuss the failed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme, which Infantino abandoned within days of announcing it in July. The plan proposed selling a minority stake in a FIFA commercial subsidiary to private investors, with a company launched by Joshua Kushner, brother of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, identified as the proposed lead investor.

Governance and election pressure

The council will also address FIFA's governance, with some powerful figures seeking to limit Infantino's powers if they cannot force him out. Infantino, 56, will stand for re-election in March 2027, with a November 18 deadline for candidate nominations. Former Switzerland and Tottenham Hotspur defender Ramon Vega announced last week that he intended to stand, but has not confirmed whether he has the backing of the five national associations required.

The FFE plan exposed a split in world football. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, AFC president Salman Al Khalifa and CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani said it was time for a change at the top of FIFA. However, Infantino received a standing ovation when he met African football leaders last week in Cape Verde, and is expected to be backed by South America at next year's election in Rabat, Morocco. Despite the AFC's criticism, many Asian countries, including a bloc of Arab nations, have offered support.

The eyes of the world are on them.

— Emanuel Medeiros

Development fund and reactions

FIFA is planning to set up a $6.35bn development fund for the next four years, AFP learned Wednesday from a source close to the matter. The plan, due to be approved at Thursday's council meeting, would finance the 2026-2030 period and allow $25m to be paid to each of FIFA's 211 member federations, drawing in part on financial reserves after a commercially successful 2026 World Cup. This is far more than the $10m called for by Ceferin and Montagliani last month.

Emanuel Medeiros, founder and Global CEO of Sport Integrity Global Alliance, said FIFA needed a "frank discussion" in Zurich. "The eyes of the world are on them," he said. Lawyer and politician Miguel Maduro, who chaired the FIFA Governance Committee in 2016 before being sacked by Infantino, said he would be surprised if anything meaningful came of the meeting, adding that any review might be "a window dressing exercise".