PARIS, July 31 — Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Fifa President Gianni Infantino, resigned with immediate effect on Friday in protest over plans to seek private investment in a new company that would oversee Fifa’s commercial and event operations, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
Cordeiro said he could not support the proposed Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), which would reportedly value a new subsidiary controlling the Fifa World Cup and other competitions at about US$20 billion and offer external investors a stake of up to 20 per cent.
“As a senior adviser to the Fifa President, a former banker, and a lifelong football fan, I cannot stand by while Fifa considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro said in a statement.
“Let me be clear: I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally. It is a bad deal for Fifa’s member associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game.”
Cordeiro, who spent more than 35 years in banking, questioned why Fifa would seek to raise US$4.2 billion by permanently giving outside investors a share of what he described as football’s most valuable asset.
He said Fifa already has billions of dollars in reserves, no debt, and generated US$15 billion in revenue between 2022 and 2026.
“If member associations believe additional investment is needed to develop the game, Fifa already has the financial capacity to provide that support from its existing resources,” he said.
“Against that backdrop, selling a permanent stake in football’s most valuable asset to raise US$4.2 billion makes little sense. It is mortgaging football’s future without any compelling justification.”
Cordeiro also questioned Fifa’s argument that private investment and outside expertise were needed to unlock additional commercial value.
He said Fifa’s recent financial success had been delivered by experienced football professionals who had already demonstrated the organisation’s ability to grow the game and its commercial operations.
He also raised concerns about the proposal’s oversight, governance, beneficiaries, and whether a competitive process had been conducted to identify potential investors.
Cordeiro said the proposal had become a “defining question” for Fifa, making it impossible for him to remain in his role.
“Fifa’s responsibility is not to maximise commercial returns at any cost. It is to protect and strengthen football for future generations,” he said.
“When those principles come into conflict, football must come first.”
In a statement on Friday, Fifa defended the FFE proposal, saying it would permanently own and control the subsidiary and that the plan would not alter the organisation’s governance structure.
“Nobody is selling football,” Fifa said, adding that the proposal could be approved, rejected or amended during consultations with member associations.
Fifa said each member association would receive US$20 million in development funding between 2027 and 2030 regardless of how it voted, while an additional voluntary one-off payment of US$20 million would be financed through external investment.
The governing body said FFE would not be established without the support of a majority of its member associations. — Bernama-Anadolu
