World soccer boss made 'fatal' error in trying to quietly sell off stake in future World Cup tournaments: PM
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| Prime Minister Mark Carney and FIFA president Gianni Infantino look at the new 2026 FIFA World Cup coins during a trophy tour at the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa on Sunday, May 24, 2026. PHOTO BY HYUNGCHEOL PARK /Postmedia Network |
Add Prime Minister Mark Carney to the list of people who have lost faith in embattled FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
The Liberal leader made the comments during a news conference in Toronto on Wednesday, telling reporters that Infantino made a “fatal” error in trying to quietly sell off a stake in future World Cup tournaments to private investors that included the Kushner family.
“I’ve run a few organizations in my time,” Carney said weeks after Canada co-hosted the World Cup with the U.S. and Mexico. “The idea that proper governance is not to disclose to your closest advisers, your chief operating officer, your fellow board members, something of consequence that you’re even considering — let alone proposing — that’s fatal, should be fatal and you lose confidence in that individual.
“They (FIFA) have their own procedures for making those determinations, but certainly I don’t have confidence in Mr. Infantino after this point given what transpired and given the nature of what transpired.”
‘Offensive’ investment plan sparks backlash
Carney’s comments referred to the ongoing backlash over Infantino’s now-scrapped FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which was made public last week with a plan to create a commercial subsidiary to run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup tournaments.
The proposal was based on the premise that FIFA could raise more than $4 billion by selling off a 20% stake in the enterprise based on a valuation of $20 billion with Thrive Eternal – a subsidiary of Thrive Capital, which is owned by the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – expected to spearhead private investment.
FIFA received immediate backlash over the proposal with soccer governing bodies and world leaders among those expressing their displeasure. UEFA, Europe’s powerful soccer governing body, vowed to boycott future events and member nations also threatened to pull their support for Infantino, who is seeking a fourth and final term as president in 2027.
Even after FIFA discarded the plan, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday that Infantino was not the “right man to lead football forward on the world stage.
“The plan that was put forward was offensive to many people, football people around the world, and it can’t be the case that we just move on and forget that,” Burnham said.
‘Full support’ for Infantino at FIFA meetings?
Despite the backlash, FIFA issued a statement on Wednesday saying secretary general Mattias Grafstrom and members of the management board attending meetings in Rabat, Morocco, had expressed “full support” for Infantino’s leadership.
The reference to Grafstrom was notable as an internal email sent by him to FIFA staff seemed to distance himself from Infantino, AFP reported, while calling the FFE fiasco a “sad and reproachable series of events.”
The statement from FIFA said the FFE proposal was discussed at the meetings, mistakes “were acknowledged” and apologized for and a commitment was made to “ensure they do not happen again.
“It was agreed that it was not the intention for the FIFA council and FIFA member associations to feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently,” the statement said, vowing a review of the events. “It was further acknowledged that errors were also made after the proposal was leaked to media.”
There was no mention, however, of a report from The Athletic that said U.S. World Cup host cities were chasing FIFA for alleged “legacy” payments of $1 million that had been promised to them privately in addition to similar benefits paid out from the 2025 Club World Cup.
The U.S. cities that hosted matches this year included Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle.
Toronto and Vancouver also hosted games, but a statement from the City of Toronto said they were “not eligible” for the payments.
- Jordan Ercit
