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The 2026 World Cup<\/a> just ended, but FIFA is already thinking about its next tournament. If it gets its way, that tournament will change the game of soccer forever.<\/p>\n The Times of London<\/a> reported on Tuesday that FIFA president Gianni Infantino planned to sell “stakes” in the operations of future World Cup tournaments in an attempt to squeeze more money from the already-lucrative tournament cycle.<\/p>\n FIFA is, for all intents and purposes, a nonprofit, so the sale process would require the World Cup to be taken over by a private consortium. Infantino tapped Joshua Kushner’s investment group Thrive Capital to lead it after consulting with American President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n Infantino plans to give every one of FIFA’s member nations a “stake” of their own worth somewhere in the range of $20 million apiece. Those nations could then decide to sell their stake on to another party and pocket the cash.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The proposed change is brazen and divisive, and it’s led to considerable outrage within the soccer community. But why? And how? And what comes next? Here are your questions about FIFA’s latest controversy answered.<\/p>\n Because doing so grants Infantino more personal control over the tournament \u2014 and more personal control over the money that flows through it.<\/p>\n Infantino aims to be CEO of the new external consortium that will run the World Cup’s operations and stake sales (he’s calling it FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE). Running the FFE would, at least in theory, give Infantino a salary similar to that of the commissioner of a major sports league; NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was paid roughly $64 million\u00a0<\/a>in the last year his salary was publicly released. Infantino makes a package of approximately $6 million<\/a> today, so the personal gain for him is potentially significant.<\/p>\n At FIFA, Infantino is forced to win regular elections to maintain his power. As CEO of an external firm, his leadership over the World Cup would be far less tenuous. This World Cup ownership switch would make Infantino much richer and much more secure in his power.<\/p>\n By getting support from the majority of FIFA’s 211 member nations … and Infantino’s plan to give them all a quick infusion of $20 million apiece (and predicted infusions of similar sizes in the future) could make that achievable.<\/p>\n Every vote carries the same weight in FIFA; world champion Spain’s opinion matters exactly as much as that of the Marshall Islands, FIFA’s newest and least-influential member. Previous FIFA executives have leveraged this to form powerful voting blocs from under-resourced nations across Africa, Asia, Oceania and North America, and Infantino could find success here by doing the same.<\/p>\n Two reasons: soul and transparency.<\/p>\n On the “soul” front, the entire European division of FIFA \u2014 UEFA, the owner and operator of the successful Champions League \u2014 rejected Infantino’s proposal outright.\u00a0<\/p>\n “This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross,”\u00a0it said in a statement.<\/a> “The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially.<\/p>\n “None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n On the “transparency” front, Infantino’s plan really hasn’t been explained in detail to any member nations \u2014 but each one must decide to accept its “stake” or reject it by Sept. 19 of this year<\/a>, all the same. The AFC, Asia’s division of FIFA, took particular umbrage with this.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The AFC firmly believes that all stakeholders should be provided with sufficient information and adequate time to assess the proposal in full, including its governance, legal, commercial and strategic implications,” it said in a statement of its own<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yes. Very grubby indeed.<\/p>\n Drama, that’s what.<\/p>\n UEFA (Europe’s association of soccer federations) and CONMEBOL (South America’s) have long chafed against FIFA’s consolidated power within the game and fought for greater influence over soccer’s future. If this proposal to sell the game off is approved, UEFA and CONMEBOL could break free of FIFA altogether and start their own competing organization … leaving FIFA running World Cups without any participation from European or South American teams.<\/p>\n Indeed, it could. Savor the memories because the World Cup might never look the same again.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhy would Gianni Infantino want to sell control of FIFA’s biggest cash cow?<\/h2>\n
How would a move like this get passed?<\/h2>\n
Why would a member nation vote against it?<\/h2>\n
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It’s kind of grubby that national soccer federations are being handed $20 million and told to accept it or reject it without any idea what they’re really signing up for, right?<\/h2>\n
What happens if this new proposal is approved?<\/h2>\n
So the 2026 World Cup could wind up being the last of its kind?<\/h2>\n