Cordeiro Resigns in Protest over FIFA Proposal

Carlos Cordeiro, a senior advisor to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, resigned with immediate effect on Friday in protest over FIFA's proposal to sell up to a 20% stake in a new company that would manage the World Cup and other tournaments. He described the plan as “bad deal for football”.

FIFA has proposed creating a subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), valued at about $20bn, to manage the World Cup and other competitions. Under the proposal, up to a 20% stake would be offered to outside investors.

Cordeiro said he played no role in developing the proposal and strongly opposed it. He argued that selling part of FIFA's most valuable asset for about $4.2bn makes little sense when the organization has billions of dollars in reserves and no debt. He also noted that, according to Infantino, FIFA is expected to generate $15bn in revenue between 2022 and 2026.

FIFA's member associations are due to vote on the proposal by 19 September. Cordeiro claimed they are being pressured to approve the plan because rejecting it could leave them at a disadvantage.

(Reuters, Lud)