In the wake of a widely praised 2026 World Cup, Fifa president Gianni Infantino has plunged the organization into fresh controversy by proposing to inject $20bn of private capital into the tournament, reportedly with backing from JP Morgan and Thrive Capital, the investment firm run by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner.
The plan has drawn sharp criticism from within football's governing structures, with critics arguing it mirrors patterns seen in Infantino's increasingly close relationship with Donald Trump, including his delivery of a Fifa peace prize to the US president and a controversial decision to overturn a red card involving a US player. Detractors say football associations that supported the privatization scheme were promised greater financial rewards, while those opposed faced funding cuts—a dynamic critics compare to political favoritism seen in other authoritarian-leaning systems.
Many within Fifa reportedly learned of the privatization proposal through media reports rather than internal consultation, echoing how the peace prize decision was also communicated. Although Fifa's own statutes cap presidents at three terms—Infantino was elected in 2016 and re-elected unopposed in both 2019 and 2023—he has signaled he may seek another term in the March 2027 election.
Opposition has emerged from several of football's regional confederations. Uefa, the AFC, and Concacaf have all publicly criticized Infantino's approach, with European officials reportedly floating the possibility of boycotting international competitions in protest. However, unity against Infantino remains elusive: Mexico, Qatar, and a number of Asian federations have expressed support for him, while the Confederation of African Football, representing 54 nations, has reaffirmed its backing. Infantino reportedly needs only 106 votes to secure re-election.
Observers point to Fifa's patronage-based funding system—which distributes substantial resources to national federations with limited transparency—as a key reason dissent has struggled to gain traction, even among those uneasy about ceding control of the World Cup to private equity interests.
Potential successors to Infantino each carry significant baggage, according to critics. Victor Montagliani, Concacaf's president and a Fifa Council vice-president, has faced scrutiny over his handling of past controversies. Qatari official Nasser Al-Khelaifi has stated he has "no ambition, no intention and no interest in the Fifa role." Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa of the Asian Football Confederation, who lost to Infantino in 2016, continues to face allegations regarding human rights in Bahrain, which he denies. Norway's football federation president, Lise Klaveness, is seen by some as a principled alternative given her history of challenging Infantino, though she is considered unlikely to win given persistent structural barriers within the organization.
Critics argue that meaningful reform cannot come from within Fifa itself, given decades of self-regulation under presidents including João Havelange, Sepp Blatter, and now Infantino. The London-based human rights organization FairSquare has launched a campaign called "Reboot Fifa," seeking to have Infantino declared ineligible for the 2027 election and pursuing what it describes as the largest-ever class-action complaint against a Fifa president, alleging violations of the organization's political neutrality rules through his ties to Trump—including having worn a red