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International Business Times
International Business Times
Business

FIFA Forward Enterprise Abandoned: Infantino Withdraws $20 Billion Proposal After Widespread Football Backlash

FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the 76th FIFA Congress at the Vancouver Convention Centre on April 30, 2026 in Vancouver, Canada.

Gianni Infantino has withdrawn the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, ending a crisis that convulsed world football for three days and brought UEFA to the brink of a World Cup boycott. In a statement issued late on Friday, the FIFA president said the plan — which would have opened minority ownership of FIFA's commercial operations to private investors — had "created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place."

The statement is brief but unambiguous. "This proposal will not proceed," Infantino said.

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