Former U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro stepped down from his role as a FIFA senior adviser this week, citing the growing backlash against a proposed $20 billion private‑equity spin‑off of the organization’s World Cup revenues.
The scheme, championed by Joshua Kushner’s New York‑based investment firm, would carve the governing body’s most lucrative commercial assets into a new subsidiary in which roughly 20 percent would be sold to private investors. Cordeiro, who previously worked at Goldman Sachs before leading U.S. Soccer from 2018 to 2020, insisted he had no part in the confidential negotiations and voiced his unequivocal opposition.
A coalition of continental bodies issues a joint rebuke
The Asian Football Confederation joined UEFA and CONCACAF in demanding an urgent review of FIFA’s governance, while European officials warned of a potential boycott of all FIFA‑sanctioned competitions.
The fallout has cast a shadow over Gianni Infantino’s bid for a fourth term. The Swiss president had appeared on a clear path to re‑election until the proposal sparked a wave of dissent, even drawing a public query from former U.S. president Donald Trump, who asked Infantino to reconsider a one‑game suspension for a player.
With a March 2025 vote scheduled in Rabat, Morocco, and a November deadline for presidential candidates to declare, the controversy could reshape the federation’s future. FIFA has already earmarked the 2031 Women’s World Cup for a joint United States‑Mexico‑Jamaica‑Costa Rica bid and the 2035 edition for the United Kingdom’s home nations.
The proposed commercial restructuring would create a $20 billion subsidiary that could alter revenue distribution, prize‑money allocations and the sport’s geopolitical balance. Critics argue that the move concentrates power in the hands of a handful of investors while sidestepping transparent decision‑making processes.