Carlos Cordeiro, the senior advisor to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, announced his resignation this week in direct protest against the governing body’s plan to sell a stake in the World Cup.
The stakes of the proposal
FIFA has proposed creating a $20‑billion subsidiary, dubbed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), that would oversee the World Cup and a suite of other competitions. The move includes offering up to 20 % of the new entity to external investors, a step that would inject as much as $4.2 billion into the organization.
In a strongly worded statement, Cordeiro said the scheme represented a “bad deal” for FIFA’s 211 member associations and for the sport’s long‑term health. He warned that the member federations risked being left behind if they did not approve the plan before the September 19 deadline.
Financial context
According to Cordeiro, FIFA generated $15 billion in revenue between 2022 and 2026 and entered the discussion with a balance sheet that held billions of dollars in reserves and no outstanding debt. He questioned the logic of raising $4.2 billion by relinquishing a portion of its most valuable asset when the organization could fund its initiatives from existing resources.
The resignation comes as Gianni Infantino, who appointed Cordeiro in 2021 to modernize FIFA’s regulatory framework and expand football globally, continues to champion the commercial restructuring. Cordeiro’s departure underscores growing internal dissent over the direction of the sport’s governing body.
Before joining FIFA, Cordeiro built a distinguished career in global investment banking, holding senior roles at Goldman Sachs in the EMEA and Asia regions. He later served as vice chairman at the bank before moving to U.S. Soccer, where he contributed to the development of the sport in the United States. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a credential that reflects his deep expertise in both finance and strategic leadership.