FIFA exec resigns, second exec says Infantino deceived staff over plan

Two senior FIFA officials criticized Gianni Infantino's World Cup sell-off plan Friday, with one resigning as a presidential adviser and a second saying staff were deceived by the project that must not go ahead. Carlos Cordeiro, FIFA's representative on the White House Task Force for the World Cup and a former Goldman Sachs banker, resigned as an adviser to Infantino, saying: 'I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,' and urged other senior staff to speak out. Kevin Lamour, FIFA's chief operating officer since 2024, did not resign but said staff were 'deceived' by the lack of openness around the private-investor plan and 'deserve better than contempt and intimidation.' He called it 'the project of one person,' adding 'the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.' On possibly being fired, he said: 'And if that means I lose my job, then so be it.' Cordeiro, a former U.S. Soccer president, said: 'Let me be clear. I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally,' calling the $20 billion commercial subsidiary 'a bad deal for football.' He noted 'FIFA already has access to extraordinary financial resources' - about $15 billion in revenue over the last four years - and argued that 'selling a permanent stake in football's most valuable asset to raise $4.2 billion makes little sense': 'mortgaging football's future without any compelling justification.' He said 'Football has been central to my life,' and 'after more than 35 years in banking, I understand both the value of this asset and the consequences of giving part of it away.' The proposal would spin off FIFA's commercial businesses - men's and women's World Cups and Club World Cups - into a $20 billion subsidiary with 20% private ownership. The 'anchor investor' is a New York firm created by Joshua Kushner. Asked at Camp David whether he had discussed it with Infantino, Trump said: 'No, I never spoke to him.' The Asian Football Confederation said it 'stands in solidarity' with UEFA and CONCACAF, whose combined members approach a majority of FIFA's 211. CONMEBOL said it is evaluating the matter 'with the rigor it demands' and requested details on the project's 'scope, structure, governance, and potential overall impact.' Cordeiro - who resigned from U.S. Soccer in 2020 after pressure over equal-pay lawsuit filings - said he hoped colleagues 'will speak up,' because 'decisions of this magnitude should be made in the interests of football, not those who stand to profit from it.' Infantino, in power more than a decade, had seemed certain to be re-elected unopposed in March; FIFA set a Nov. 18 deadline for challengers.