Infantino faces FIFA revolt after adviser quits over plan to sell World Cup stake to private equity
GENEVA — Pressure on FIFA President Gianni Infantino and his divisive plan to sell World Cup profits to private equity grew Friday as his senior adviser who sat on a White House panel resigned and Asia’s soccer body joined Europe and North America in opposing it.
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An expanding crisis for soccer’s governing body reached into Infantino’s longtime inner circle when his pick to represent FIFA on the White House Task Force for the World Cup walked away, calling the Joshua Kushner-backed $20 billion commercial subsidiary plan “a bad deal for football.”
Carlos Cordeiro is a former Goldman Sachs banker and officially Infantino’s Senior Adviser, yet revealed he was not involved in the secretive investment plan that has rocked the sport since media reports revealed it Tuesday.
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“I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro said in a statement formally resigning, just hours after FIFA insisted in a statement: “Nobody is selling football.”
Cordeiro’s exit — and call for other senior staff to speak out — intensified scrutiny on Infantino one day after European soccer body UEFA threatened to boycott all FIFA games and events until the plan is dropped. North America’s CONCACAF also rejected Infantino’s offer of one-off $20 million payments to each member federation by a mid-September deadline.
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