Pressure rising on Infantino, FIFA's World Cup investor plan as advisor resigns
FIFA President Gianni Infantino is facing internal backlash over a plan to sell stakes in future World Cup profits to private equity firms. Senior staff and advisors have criticized the lack of transparency, with some calling for the project to be abandoned.
Why it matters
The controversy threatens the governance and financial integrity of the world's largest soccer organization as it prepares for the 2026 World Cup.
From left: Alexi Lalas, Ronaldo, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, host Andrés Cantor, Francesco Totti, and Hristo Stoichkov discuss the match schedule reveal for the 2026 soccer World Cup in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Chris Carlson/AP) GENEVA — FIFA's chief operating officer said its staff were deceived by their president Gianni Infantino's World Cup sell-off plan, and suggested on Friday the project must not go ahead.
Zurich-based executive Kevin Lamour all but invited Infantino to fire him in a statement to The Associated Press that defended his colleagues amid intense fallout from Infantino's plan to sell stakes in future World Cup profits to private equity funds.
Lamour wrote that staff were “deceived” by Infantino’s lack of openness in planning the sale over recent months and “deserve better than contempt and intimidation.”
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