CONCACAF and U.S. Soccer have publicly rejected Gianni Infantino's plan to sell a minority stake in the FIFA World Cup to private investors, a proposal that had been briefed to the Trump administration. The rejection marks a significant setback for the FIFA president and could lead to an awkward conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration was reportedly consulted on the plan.
Infantino's Vision Rejected
Infantino's FIFA Forward Enterprise plan aimed to consolidate FIFA's commercial rights—including sponsorship, ticketing, licensing, and broadcasting—alongside tournament operations. A minority stake of 20 to 30 percent would then be sold to private investors, among them Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. However, the plan has faced fierce opposition.
UEFA had already announced it would boycott all FIFA competitions unless the plan was abandoned. CONCACAF, the governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean, followed suit, releasing a statement outlining its rejection.
CONCACAF's Statement
In its statement, CONCACAF said: "Concacaf is a confederation united by the love of our game, where football comes first. Guided by this philosophy over the past ten years we have built, from the ground up, an organisation founded on service, transparent governance, and the long-term stewardship of football."
The statement added: "History has shown FIFA and the football family what happens when the custodians of the game lose sight of these values. With this in mind, Concacaf today convened a meeting of the presidents of its 41 Member Associations... to discuss a proposal developed and presented by the FIFA President to establish ‘FIFA Forward Enterprise’ and sell interests in the FIFA World Cup to private investors."
During the meeting, member associations expressed "deep concerns about the lack of due process surrounding the proposal, the artificially short deadline imposed, and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governance bodies. In addition, the need for private equity investment to fund new and existing FIFA Forward programs following the most profitable FIFA World Cup in history was questioned."
CONCACAF and its 41 member associations formally rejected the proposal and tasked their FIFA Council members with engaging FIFA to explore using existing FIFA reserves to increase development funding, and instructing the FIFA President to follow proper governance processes.
U.S. Soccer Backs CONCACAF
U.S. Soccer quickly expressed its support, posting on X: "U.S. Soccer stands with Concacaf and its members." This public opposition from the U.S. federation, given the Trump administration's prior consultation, represents a blow to both Infantino and Trump.
Infantino had stated that the plan required the support of just over 50 percent of FIFA's 211 member nations. With UEFA (55 members) and CONCACAF (41 members) already opposing it, he is already down 96 nations—nearly half the required threshold.
