FIFA President Gianni Infantino is facing mounting pressure over a controversial proposal to sell a stake in the commercial rights of the FIFA World Cup to private equity investors, with opposition growing across global football. The crisis deepened on Friday after FIFA Senior Adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned in protest, while the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) joined UEFA and CONCACAF in rejecting the plan. The proposal has triggered widespread criticism over FIFA's governance, transparency and decision-making process, placing Infantino under increasing scrutiny ahead of next year's presidential election.

Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker and ex-president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, announced his resignation, saying he could not support FIFA's reported plan to create a $20 billion commercial subsidiary that would include the World Cup and other major tournaments. He stated that he had no involvement in the proposal despite serving as Infantino's senior adviser and representing FIFA on the White House Task Force for the World Cup. Calling it "a bad deal for football," Cordeiro urged other senior FIFA officials to speak out. FIFA, however, maintained that "nobody is selling football" and insisted the consultation process with member associations would continue.

The controversy has also widened divisions among FIFA's continental confederations. UEFA had already threatened to boycott FIFA competitions if the proposal proceeds, while CONCACAF rejected Infantino's reported offer of one-time payments of $20 million to each member federation. On Friday, the AFC, representing 46 member associations, formally aligned itself with UEFA and CONCACAF, stating that the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise lacked the broad consensus needed to move forward. The AFC said football should never have been placed in such a position and called for the proposal to be reconsidered.

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Beyond opposing the investment plan itself, the AFC criticized FIFA's governance, arguing that the controversy exposed serious shortcomings in the organization's consultation and decision-making processes. The Kuala Lumpur-based confederation urged FIFA to conduct an urgent review of its governance framework, saying member associations had not been adequately consulted before details of the proposal emerged publicly. Analysts view the AFC's stance as particularly significant because the confederation has long been regarded as a key supporter of Infantino during his presidency, making its public criticism a notable shift in global football politics.

According to reports, FIFA's proposal would spin off its commercial operations—including the men's and women's World Cups and Club World Cups—into a new $20 billion subsidiary, with private investors acquiring a 20 percent stake. The lead investor is reportedly a New York-based investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. FIFA has accused media reports of disrupting its consultation process but says it remains committed to seeking feedback from all 211 member associations. Meanwhile, potential candidates for the FIFA presidential election, scheduled for March in Rabat, Morocco, have until November 18 to declare their candidacy, while UEFA's threatened boycott could affect the Women's Under-20 World Cup in Poland beginning on September 5 if the dispute remains unresolved.

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