Gianni Infantino: FIFA president arrives at Icarus moment as plans to sell off World Cup stake unravel
FIFA president Gianni Infantino is facing significant backlash over a proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup. Major football governing bodies, including UEFA and Concacaf, have threatened boycotts, and a senior advisor has resigned in protest.
Why it matters
The potential commercialization of the World Cup threatens the governance and unity of global football, signaling a major crisis for FIFA's leadership.
Gianni Infantino has met his Icarus moment. <p>The FIFA president's plan to sell stakes in the World Cup was only revealed a matter of days ago but already it seems terminally damaged.</p><p>UEFA, the governing body for European football, has threatened a boycott of FIFA competitions by its member nations unless the scheme is permanently abandoned. Concacaf, UEFA's counterpart in North and Central America and the Caribbean, has also rejected FIFA's proposal. The Asian Football Confederation has condemned it, too.
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