Is Infantino losing his position?

FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, have made a dramatic U-turn on the sale of a stake in the organization's commercial and operational rights after a wave of criticism that the initiative provoked. In a statement, Infantino said: "After carefully listening to all parties, we have come to the conclusion that this project has caused such deep divisions that, regardless of the level of support, it no longer serves the purpose for which it was proposed. Our task has always been and remains to unite and develop football. That is why this proposal will not be implemented." Infantino's idea met with serious resistance from UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The European confederation has even said that all 55 of its member associations will boycott FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup, if the plans go ahead. In response, FIFA issued a statement on Friday morning stressing that "no one is selling football". The organization also said it "hears and respects the opinions and concerns expressed publicly", but at the same time confirmed its intention to continue consultations on the project, assuring an "open and democratic discussion process". However, shortly afterwards, the Asian Football Confederation issued its own statement expressing solidarity with UEFA and CONCACAF. Subsequently, Infantino suffered two more serious blows within FIFA itself. Initially, his adviser Carlos Cordeiro left his position. In a statement, he harshly criticized the initiative, calling it "unprofitable for FIFA's member associations, unprofitable for football and unprofitable for the long-term future of the game." After that, FIFA operations director Kevin Lamour in a comment to the Associated Press said that the organization's employees were "misled" by Infantino's actions. He said he would feel more at ease after speaking out, even if it cost him his job. "This is a one-man project. It's not just that it shouldn't be implemented... It's time for football managers to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions," Lamour said. After these events, Infantino's situation deteriorated sharply. As several interlocutors at FIFA reported on the condition of anonymity, by Friday there was almost no doubt in the organization that the question is not whether he will be suspended, but only when it will happen. As of Friday evening, venture capital company Thrive, whose founder is Joshua Kushner, has not yet withdrawn from the project. However, it no longer mattered after the FIFA management officially announced the rejection of the initiative. Last Tuesday, soccer's world governing body announced plans to create a new private entity, FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE), to manage the organization's major tournaments, including the FIFA World Cups and Club World Cups. At the same time, FIFA planned to sell a 21 percent stake in FFE to outside investors. The deal was expected to bring in $4.2 billion, which FIFA wanted to immediately distribute to all 211 national associations under the new FIFA Fast-Forward Program (FFFP). According to the project, the total amount of funds for the development of football should exceed 10 billion dollars over the next four years. Despite mounting criticism, FIFA emphasized that even if the association opposes the creation of the FFE, but the initiative is still approved, it will still receive $20 million in the 2027-2030 cycle. In subsequent cycles, the amounts were to increase to $22 million (2031–2034) and $24 million (2035–2038), regardless of whether the FFE share was sold to private investors. At the same time, associations that would support the creation of the FFE would receive 40 million dollars each in the period 2027-2030. Subsequent payments remained the same as for other members. The three confederations, which have openly opposed the initiative, represent 137 of FIFA's 211 member associations. To approve the project, it was necessary to obtain the support of the majority of the organization's members, as well as the approval of the FIFA Executive Council, which consists of 37 people, including Gianni Infantino and eight vice-presidents. The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) also issued a statement late on Friday. She did not reject FIFA's proposal, but stressed that financial and commercial decisions "must always serve the interests of football and never become more important than its essence." However, within a few hours, FIFA officially removed this issue from the agenda. According to insider sources, during the meetings of UEFA and CONCACAF on Thursday,