The Asian Football Confederation has thrown its weight behind UEFA and CONCACAF, rejecting FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. The AFC issued a statement expressing solidarity with its European and North American counterparts, which have threatened a boycott of FIFA competitions and refused the offer of $20 million payments to each member federation.
AFC’s Governance Critique
Infantino’s plan would spin off FIFA’s commercial businesses into a $20 billion subsidiary, with a 20 percent slice reserved for private investors. The anchor investor is a New York‑based firm created by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner has served as an adviser to the FIFA chief.
FIFA adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned in protest over the private‑equity scheme, underscoring the depth of dissent within the organization. The AFC criticised FIFA’s management style and called for an urgent review of its governance and decision‑making processes, accusing the body of opaque handling of the proposal.
The standoff could affect the upcoming Women’s Under‑20 World Cup in Poland, scheduled to begin on September 5. With UEFA and CONCACAF already hinting at a boycott, the AFC’s endorsement of their stance adds further pressure on FIFA to reconsider its commercial overhaul.