FIFA's senior advisor to president Gianni Infantino resigned on July 31 in protest at the governing body's plan to sell a stake in its commercial rights to private investors, hours after FIFA issued its first official defence of the proposal.
Carlos Cordeiro, 70, who had held the role for five years following a career in investment banking, described the proposals as a bad deal for FIFA member associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the sport.
Cordeiro said he had no involvement in the proposal and was categorically opposed to it. He added that he could not remain a bystander while FIFA considered selling a stake in the World Cup, and submitted his resignation with immediate effect.
What FIFA is proposing
FIFA confirmed it is exploring the consolidation of its commercial rights , covering broadcasting, sponsorships, licensing, tickets and hospitality , with the operational running of its competitions, through a new vehicle called FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE. A formal consultation with all 211 member associations began on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, after FIFA received a proposal aimed at accelerating long-term development projects such as stadiums and national training centres.
Infantino said in a public message that the proposal would only move forward if a majority of member associations supported it and if the FIFA Council approved the required regulatory changes. He was emphatic that nobody is selling football and that this is something FIFA would never consider, and he added that no single entity can claim to speak for all 211 member federations worldwide , a remark widely read as a reference to UEFA, the first confederation to react sharply to the plan.
Member associations have until September 19 to indicate whether they accept the scheme.
The financial terms on offer
FIFA set out what federations stand to gain depending on their position. Those that oppose the FFE plan but are outvoted would still receive $20 million each during the 2027-30 cycle, rising to $22 million in 2031-34 and $24 million in 2035-38, regardless of whether any FFE stake is sold to private investors.
Federations that agree to the FFE plan would receive $40 million in the 2027-30 period, with later payments remaining the same as those offered to dissenters.
Cordeiro's case against the deal
Cordeiro, who also represented FIFA on the U.S. State Department's special task force for the 2026 World Cup, made the case that the sale was unnecessary. He pointed to the $15 billion in revenue FIFA generated during the 2022-2026 World Cup cycle, arguing that the organisation already possessed extraordinary financial resources and that it had the capacity to fund development from existing reserves without surrendering a permanent stake in its most valuable asset.
He said that selling a permanent share of football's most prized asset to raise $4.2 billion made little sense and that it mortgaged the future of the sport without any convincing justification.
Cordeiro also questioned the process itself, asking why this deal was being struck now, what oversight existed, who stood to benefit, whether a competitive bidding process had taken place, what governance arrangements would apply, and what investors would ultimately earn at football's expense. He characterised the situation as irresponsible governance.
A five-year tenure ends
Cordeiro was appointed FIFA's senior advisor for global strategy and governance in September 2021. Before that he served as president of U.S. Soccer between 2018 and 2020, a tenure that ended in resignation amid backlash during the women's national team's legal dispute over equal pay.
In his resignation statement, Cordeiro said it had been a life privilege to serve FIFA for more than five years alongside dedicated people who cared deeply about the sport. He said he hoped those people would speak out, because decisions of this magnitude must be taken in the interest of football and not of those who stand to profit from it.
FIFA has not commented on Cordeiro's departure.
