Gianni Infantino spent late July fighting for his political survival inside FIFA, and when the scheme he had built to secure it finally collapsed on July 31, only a handful of the game's 211 member federations had been prepared to say, on the record, that they still backed him. According to Sport5, five of them did: the Czech Republic, Qatar, Kuwait, Sri Lanka and Lebanon publicly defended the FIFA president's plan to sell a stake in future World Cups to private investors before he was forced to abandon it.
The scheme, unveiled by Infantino in late July, would have seen FIFA sell a minority stake in a new commercial entity built around the World Cup to outside investors, in a venture reported to be valued at up to $20 billion — Sport5 put the sum FIFA hoped to raise at around €15 billion. Reports named Joshua Kushner's Thrive Capital as the investor group being lined up to lead the deal.
To secure the votes he needed, Infantino offered every one of FIFA's 211 member associations an immediate payment of $20 million, with a further $66 million promised in installments through 2038, if they backed the plan when it came to a vote.
The proposal triggered the fiercest institutional revolt of Infantino's presidency. UEFA, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation all issued formal statements opposing the sale, and UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin urged European federations to withdraw their support and, if necessary, move to weaken Infantino's path to another term or push him out altogether.
Amid that wall of opposition, only one European federation broke ranks. Czech FA president David Trunda said he saw "pragmatic benefits" in working closely with Infantino, telling reporters he could "see the positive impact of Fifa's intentions," and arguing the money could fund youth development and grassroots infrastructure at home.
Qatar, host of the 2022 World Cup, went further still. The Qatar Football Association issued a statement praising Infantino's "wisdom" and declaring its "full support for his efforts to continue growing and strengthening the game globally."
Kuwait and Sri Lanka's federations reaffirmed their confidence in Infantino's leadership without elaborating in detail, while Lebanon's association said the proposal could still be reworked by FIFA's relevant committees "in a way that serves the greater good of the sport and preserves its unity" — support with a caveat, but support nonetheless.
None of it was enough to save the plan. Facing threats of a boycott from European federations and internal claims that Infantino had misled FIFA's own staff over the deal's terms, the FIFA president abandoned the proposal on July 31 — a rare and striking retreat for a leader who has seldom lost an internal argument since taking charge of world football's governing body in 2016.
The episode leaves Infantino's authority visibly dented ahead of an expected bid for a further term as FIFA president, and it puts on the record exactly which federations were willing to stand publicly with him when most of the game would not.
