After one of the most turbulent and controversial few days in the history of world soccer, the future of FIFA and its leader Gianni Infantino are under intense scrutiny.

FIFA’s proposal to create a new commercial entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), collapsed after an extraordinary backlash from across the world.

The plan would have created a US$20 billion company to run the World Cup with private investors. Soon after news of it was released, European soccer’s governing body UEFA threatened to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions.

What began as a technical restructuring initiative quickly escalated into a political confrontation that exposed deep institutional fractures within the global governing body.

Read more: World game at war: why some European nations have threatened a World Cup boycott

So, why was there such fierce backlash and what may happen from here?

The backlash against FIFA, Infantino

UEFA was the first to intervene, warning the plan amounted to an unacceptable privatisation of the World Cup.

The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) followed with its own formal rejection. It emphasised the proposal lacked transparency and embedded private investors within FIFA’s commercial decision-making.

When the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), of which Australia is a member, also announced its opposition, the arithmetic became decisive: UEFA’s 55 members, CONCACAF’s 35 and........

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