00:00FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Saturday that he has scrapped a plan to allow private investment in the World
00:07Cup following fierce backlash from football officials worldwide.
00:12In a statement, Infantino said the project had created divisions that were, quote, no longer in the interest of the
00:19objective set out.
00:20The plan was to let outside investors take minority stakes in a new subsidiary running FIFA's commercial operations, including the
00:29World Cup.
00:30Infantino said the venture could have raised nearly 20 billion euros.
00:34But the idea triggered an outcry, with UEFA threatening to boycott FIFA competitions altogether, insisting the World Cup, quote, cannot
00:44be treated as an investment product.
00:46The controversy has piled pressure on Infantino, already under fire over the running of this year's World Cup, and led
00:53to the resignation of a senior advisor.
Comments