Gianni Infantino, the president of football's world governing body, introduced a scheme that would hand over the rights to the World Cup and other FIFA assets to a private investment vehicle reportedly connected to former U.S. president Donald Trump's extended family.
The proposition quickly drew fire from European football's governing authority, which warned that it would refuse to allow its flagship tournaments to be part of any such transaction unless the plan was abandoned.
A swift and public reversal
Within days, FIFA issued an internal memo acknowledging that the proposal had created deep divisions and would not move forward, while UEFA declared a loss of confidence in the current leadership and demanded accountability and reform.
The backlash was not limited to institutional statements; Infantino faced a wave of criticism on social media after a lengthy online post in which he defended his actions and dismissed concerns about secretive decision‑making.
Adding to the drama, Donald Trump intervened to lobby Infantino on behalf of a U.S. player who had been suspended during the tournament, a move that resulted in the player's reinstatement.
With Infantino's re‑election scheduled for March 2025, potential successors such as Victor Montagliani, president of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, and Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, head of the Asian Football Confederation, are already being discussed as possible replacements.
The episode underscores broader concerns about transparency within FIFA, where blurred lines between officials and commercial interests have long been a point of contention, a problem highlighted by recent controversies over safety consultants and past governance lapses.