A high-profile FIFA aide and White House Task Force for the World Cup representative resigned in protest Saturday over a controversial proposal to sell a stake in the organization’s commercial business, warning that the plan would sacrifice one of the world’s most valuable sports properties to private investors.
Victor Cordeiro, a former president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, announced his resignation after FIFA president Gianni Infantino pushed a plan to spin off FIFA’s commercial operations into a new $20 billion subsidiary. Under the proposal, private investors would acquire a 20% stake in the new entity.
To win support from FIFA’s 211 member associations, Infantino has proposed distributing an immediate $20 million payment to each federation if they approve the deal, with an additional $66 million per association to be paid before 2038.
The proposal’s “anchor investor,” according to FIFA, is a New York-based investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
“I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro said in a statement announcing his resignation and urging other senior FIFA officials to speak out.
“Let me be clear. I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally,” he said, describing the $20 billion commercial subsidiary as “a bad deal for football.”
“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,” Cordeiro said. “That is why this proposal should be rejected.”
Cordeiro argued FIFA has no financial need to sell a stake in its marquee competitions.
THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS BULL-RUSH SPANISH BORDER, SPARKING ‘TOTAL HUMANITARIAN AND SOCIAL EMERGENCY’
“FIFA already has access to extraordinary financial resources,” he said. “The organization sits on billions of dollars in reserves and no debt,” pointing to roughly $15 billion in revenue generated over the past four-year cycle, driven largely by the recently completed men’s World Cup.
Opposition to the proposal has also intensified across Europe. European soccer league UEFA has criticized the plan, arguing that the sport is “not FIFA’s to sell.”