FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced he was backing down from the plan to sell shares of the World Cup, following widespread rejection from the majority of national federations.
More than two days after the earthquake caused by Gianni Infantino’s project to sell shares of the World Cup to private investors after FIFA created a company to oversee the competition, the project was quickly declared dead.
Infantino confirmed that the project no longer achieves the goal for which it was proposed, explaining that the negative reactions and the division among the federations prompted FIFA to terminate the idea permanently, despite the sgnificant financial support it could have provided.
FIFA released an official statement from Infantino saying: "After listening carefully to all opinions, it became clear that the project had caused divisions and as a result this proposal will not be adopted."
Gianni Infantino said: "The project has caused major divisions in the world of football and regardless of the level of financial support, the plan we have proposed no longer serves the purpose for which the project was originally set up."
The FIFA president indicated his intention to hold new meetings with various stakeholders, with the aim of strengthening cooperation and working to develop football, especially in countries that need more support and assistance, stressing that the priority will remain serving the game and achieving the interests of member associations.
FIFA had previously announced a plan to create a new company to manage the World Cup and a number of international competitions, with a stake of more than one-fifth of the company being offered to private sector investors, in a project estimated to be worth about twenty billion dollars.
