FIFA president scraps plans to sell stake in World Cup

FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced Friday that he has scrapped plans to sell a stake in a new subsidiary overseeing the World Cup and other competitions, saying the proposal had "created divisions" that were no longer in the interest of its original objective.

In a statement on US social media platform X, Infantino said the FIFA Forward Enterprise project was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening FIFA's member associations and football worldwide, particularly in countries where support is most needed.

"Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has 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," Infantino noted.

"Our purpose has always been - and will always be - to unite and improve," he said, adding that "as a result, this proposal will not proceed."

Infantino said he intends to reconvene stakeholders, stating his goal is "to continue growing football everywhere, and particularly in those countries that mostly need our support."

The scrapped plan had sought to sell more than 20% of a new $20 billion FIFA Forward Enterprise subsidiary to private investors, according to a report.

On Tuesday, FIFA announced plans to establish a $20 billion subsidiary to manage the World Cup and its other competitions, with up to a 20% stake to be offered to external investors.

Infantino, 56, developed close ties with Donald Trump during this year's World Cup, making repeated efforts to cultivate relations with the US president, including presenting him with FIFA's inaugural Peace Prize in December.