Plan to Sell Stake to Private Investors Falls Through... FIFA President Infantino Faces Shaking Standing

[Anchor]

FIFA's plan to attract private investment has ultimately fallen through in the face of fierce backlash. President Gianni Infantino, who spearheaded the stake sale, is facing a severely shaken standing ahead of next year's election.

Reporter Ha Seong-nyong has the details.

[Reporter]

FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced in a statement today (August 1) that "we will not pursue the stake sale plan as it has caused division that does not align with our initial goals."

He threw in the towel just three days after announcing the private investment attraction plan.

On July 29, FIFA unveiled a blueprint to establish a subsidiary handling operational and commercial rights for major tournaments like the World Cup, sell a stake to the private sector to raise up to 6 trillion won (approx. $4.4 billion), and announced that Thrive Capital, a venture capital firm run by Joshua Kushner, the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, would lead the external investment, which triggered intense backlash.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) unanimously declared a "World Cup boycott" across its 55 member nations, and federations from Asia and North and Central America, as well as the U.S. Soccer Federation, joined the procession of opposition.

With Thrive Capital ultimately deciding to pull out of the project and Infantino's senior advisor resigning in opposition to the sale, alongside strong criticism emerging from within FIFA itself, President Infantino's standing—previously considered a strong frontrunner for a fourth term in next March's election—is now severely shaken.

[Lise Klaveness / President, Norwegian Football Federation : I think President Infantino has lost a significant amount of trust. Many member associations share the same view as us.]

The New York Post reported that "at least 20 countries are discussing withdrawing their support for Infantino."

(Video Editing: Hwang Ji-young, Design: Hwang Se-yeon)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.