Will Gianni Infantino Finally Be Sent Off?
No matter how eventful your summer has been, it can’t possibly compare to FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s. Over the past month, soccer’s arch supervillain was attending two World Cup games a day via a private jet allegedly gifted to him off the books by Qatar to preside over a bloated but massively successful tournament. He was also flying way too close to the sun, putting together an audacious scheme that may now be his undoing. Infantino’s descent began last week, when most of the soccer world instantly turned against him after The Times of London revealed his secret, comically evil plan to pimp out the World Cup. This week he’s in exile from FIFA’s Swiss headquarters and holed up in Rabat, Morocco, looking like Richard III without his horse (though probably still with his plane), and the boot he may soon get won’t be golden.
Infantino’s big plan was to sell equity in the World Cup by creating a subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprises for investors to purchase 21 percent of the commercial rights to future tournaments, valued at $20 billion by JP Morgan. The lead investor was to be Joshua Kushner — brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared. Never mind that this summer’s World Cup alone earned FIFA an estimated $15 billion — pawning off the sport’s nonprofit-run crown jewel to venture capitalists did not land well with nearly everyone involved in the game. The reaction has been swift, and the usually nimble Infantino was caught flat-footed.
Continental confederations called emergency meetings the next day; member nations of UEFA (Europe), AFC (Asia) and Concacaf (North and Central America and the Caribbean) unanimously condemned Infantino’s scheme, which constituted a majority of FIFA’s 211 members, making his proposal dead on arrival. FIFA withdrew the proposal last weekend, but that hasn’t stopped the revolt. This week, a group of unnamed European soccer associations is reportedly all in on ousting Infantino by paralyzing FIFA’s bureaucratic processes and boycotting all tournaments — neutering their commercial potential — until he steps down. Several British and European soccer federations have rescinded support for him, and even some of his old allies are still withholding their support.
Another shoe dropped on Tuesday, when Jordan’s Football Association alleged that Infantino’s office threatened to withhold money owed to Jordan if the country didn’t show support for his reelection next year. Then on Wednesday, retired legend Luis Figo wrote a scathing op-ed in the Daily Mail. “I’ve seen some rogues in my time in the game, but what I’ve seen in the past 10 days is the lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested behavior I’ve ever witnessed,” he wrote. Infantino has reportedly reached out to other retired players — the type who are paid to show up to FIFA events — for support, but has been denied. On Instagram, Infantino has been reposting photos of him and retired legends at the World Cup, before all this went down, like he’s processing a breakup.
Later on Wednesday, in a last-ditch effort to save his position and affirm his supposed support within FIFA, Infantino wrote an apology letter to the FIFA Council and member nations, which........
