A dispute over the future ownership of football's most valuable properties has opened a rift inside FIFA, with several European nations warning that they will boycott the World Cup if the organization moves ahead with a proposal to bring private investors into its commercial business.

At the center of the conflict is a plan associated with FIFA president Gianni Infantino to spin off part of the sport's commercial operations into a new entity open to outside investment. Reports put the value of the deal at roughly $20 billion. Supporters describe it as a way to raise capital and grow the game's revenues. Opponents view it as a step toward handing control of core assets to private equity.

FIFA has pushed back on that characterization. "Nobody is selling football," the organization said in defending the proposal, arguing that the plan concerns commercial arrangements rather than ownership of the competitions themselves.

The opposition has widened in recent days, and the language surrounding it has sharpened. National federations across Europe, coordinating through UEFA, signaled that participation in future World Cups could be withdrawn if the plan proceeds. Some officials described the manner in which the plan was presented as blackmail, and reports characterized the mood among opponents as one of fury. Others framed the standoff as a moment that could test Infantino's hold on the presidency itself. FIFA and Infantino's supporters reject those characterizations.

The Asian Football Confederation joined nations opposing the proposal, a shift that complicates FIFA's ability to assemble a majority behind it.

The resistance carried a personnel cost as well. Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino who had also worked in an advisory capacity connected to the White House on World Cup matters, resigned as pressure mounted. His departure removed one of the plan's prominent backers from Infantino's inner circle.

Running alongside the investor dispute is a separate proposal to expand the World Cup to 64 teams. Reports indicate FIFA has continued to advance planning for a larger tournament even as the commercial fight unfolds. The two questions—how big the World Cup should be and who should profit from it—have become entangled in the broader debate over the direction Infantino has set for the governing body.

FIFA maintains that the proposal remains under discussion and that no final structure has been settled. The alignment of European and Asian federations against it leaves the plan without the broad support across the confederations that a change of this scale would require.

References

1. 1.News reports — European federations' boycott warnings and UEFA coordination
2. 2.News reports — $20 billion valuation of the proposed investor entity
3. 3.FIFA statement — "Nobody is selling football" and defense of the plan
4. 4.News reports — Asian Football Confederation joining the opposition
5. 5.News reports — Carlos Cordeiro's resignation and prior White House advisory role on World Cup matters
6. 6.News reports — opposition language including 'blackmail,' 'fury,' and questions over Infantino's presidency
7. 7.News reports — proposal to expand the World Cup to 64 teams