The European football authorities have issued a stark warning to Fifa after reports that Gianni Infantino plans to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors in a deal worth more than €17bn.
According to The Times, the Fifa president is exploring a project to package the World Cup into a new company and sell minority shareholdings to private-sector backers, while Fifa would retain overall control. Infantino is reported to be positioning himself to act in a role similar to a commissioner for this new entity.
The proposal, emerging just days after Spain lifted the 2026 World Cup, has triggered an angry response from Uefa, which is led by Aleksander Ceferin.
In a strongly worded statement, published by The Times, Uefa said Infantino’s plan “crosses a line that football’s governing bodies should never cross”.
Uefa calls for united front
Uefa made clear it does not intend to stand by quietly, urging every part of the game to take the issue seriously and resist any move to turn football’s core assets into tradeable commodities.
In its emergency statement, Uefa said: “UEFA takes this matter extremely seriously. All national football associations and all stakeholders – leagues, clubs, players, fans, governments and everyone who cares about the future of the sport – should do the same.
“The essence of football and its governance is not a commodity to be bought and sold, particularly when there is no transparency about who would profit. None of us owns football. It is not Fifa’s property to sell.”
Uefa’s intervention underlines a deepening rift between the European confederation and world football’s governing body over the direction and ownership of the sport’s most prestigious tournament.
Structure of proposed World Cup vehicle
British media reports claim Infantino’s plan centres on creating a new company that would hold the commercial rights to the World Cup. Fifa would reportedly keep a majority stake, ensuring formal control, while private investors could acquire minority positions worth several billion euros.
The Times says preliminary agreements have already been signed, with the overall value of the transaction believed to exceed €17bn.
Investment bank JPMorgan is said to be overseeing the process. The reports also state that former US president Donald Trump has been consulted in connection with the project, although no details of his role have been made public.
The Times further suggests that once his term as Fifa president ends, Infantino could become head of the new World Cup entity.
Global impact across 211 associations
English media say senior Fifa officials have held discussions over how such a deal would be structured and how it would relate to all 211 member associations, which currently share in World Cup revenues via Fifa’s existing distribution model.
No formal documentation has yet been made public and Fifa has not released detailed terms of the proposal, but the reported discussions imply a fundamental change in how the World Cup is owned, governed and commercialised.
Tournament expansion and calendar changes
The reports also indicate that, under the envisaged structure, the World Cup could be expanded beyond the already approved 48-team format.
In addition, the calendar itself may be revisited. While the tournament has traditionally been staged every four years, the new model is said to leave open the possibility of staging the World Cup less frequently than once every four years, rather than moving to a shorter cycle.
Any such shift would have major implications for domestic leagues, confederation competitions and the global football calendar, and would likely intensify the debate over player workload and the balance of power between Fifa, confederations and clubs.
Background to the dispute
Tensions between Fifa and Uefa have surfaced repeatedly in recent years, particularly over World Cup expansion, international match calendars and revenue distribution.
The timing of this latest controversy – immediately after Spain’s 2026 World Cup victory – has focused attention not on celebrations of the champions, but on who will ultimately control and profit from the world’s most-watched football tournament.
For now, Uefa’s position is unambiguous: it views the proposed sale of World Cup stakes as a step too far, and is urging the wider game – from national associations to fans and governments – to resist any attempt to turn football’s “essence” into a financial asset on the open market.
