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Infantino under fire as World Cup sell-off plan sparks FIFA revolt
Sport Nation • August 4th, 2026 11:00 am
Gianni Infantino | Photo: Photosport
Gianni Infantino’s grip on FIFA may finally be loosening.
Sky Sport UK correspondent Ben Ransom joined Sport Nation Mornings to unpack the growing revolt against the FIFA president, after reports emerged of a plan to sell off equity in the World Cup to private interests.
Ransom said the controversy comes after a deeply uncomfortable period for Infantino, including his public closeness with Donald Trump during the World Cup and the much-criticised FIFA Peace Prize.
“There was all the uncomfortable political stuff in the build-up, the FIFA Peace Prize and all of that nonsense,” Ransom said.
“At best, distasteful, but at worst, it’s pretty dark actually.”
The bigger issue came after the tournament, when Ransom said a plan emerged to effectively privatise parts of the World Cup.
“All of a sudden they’re trying to basically make money out of it,” he said.
“Then it turns out that the Trump family are involved essentially in the sell-off, and that quite understandably raised a few eyebrows.”
Ransom said the backlash has been fuelled by the way the proposal was handled, with many inside FIFA and across the federations reportedly left in the dark.
“People within FIFA, his closest allies and advisors, the council, they were completely in the dark,” he said.
“Many of the federations were not consulted, which they’ve taken understandably very personally.”
Infantino was also reportedly trying to push the plan through quickly.
“The fact he was trying to rush the whole thing through by the middle of September, if it doesn’t sound slightly crook, then I don’t know how you base your democratic decisions,” Ransom said.
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UEFA has led the opposition, but Ransom said the strength of the response from CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation was especially significant.
“The fact that CONCACAF came out so strongly, I thought was remarkable,” he said.
“The fact they’ve got the backing of those two other federations, that’s something that creates a really strong block now.”
Ransom believes the anger also reflects wider frustration with Infantino’s leadership, including his political relationships and FIFA’s increasingly powerful global posture.
“The FIFA president remit is to run football and to make sure the World Cup is a success and also to try and enhance the game around the world,” he said.
“It’s literally that simple.”
For Ransom, the strangest twist is that former FIFA president Sepp Blatter now appears almost like a critic from the outside.
“The fact that Blatter’s become the voice of reason tells you how far we’ve gone on again,” he said.
Whether Infantino is removed or simply forced into a genuine election fight, Ransom said the mood has shifted.
“At the very worst for Infantino, his presidential leadership election, he will have to face competition,” he said.
“In which case it’ll actually be a democratic vote rather than a slam dunk.”
Listen to the full interview below:
