FIFA has been plunged into fresh turmoil after Carlos Cordeiro, a senior advisor to president Gianni Infantino, resigned in protest at plans to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors.
Cordeiro, a former president of US Soccer and Infantino's representative on the White House task force for the 2026 World Cup, stepped down on Friday. "I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup," he said, branding the proposal "a bad deal for football."
The 70-year-old American, born in Bombay and a former Goldman Sachs banker, led US Soccer until 2020 before joining Infantino's inner circle. His exit removes one of the most senior American voices from FIFA's leadership.
The resignation intensifies the pressure on FIFA's hierarchy over the proposal, which would see an investor group led by Joshua Kushner take a minority stake in a new commercial entity. UEFA's 55 member federations, Italy included, have agreed to boycott FIFA competitions if the sell-off proceeds, with Concacaf and Asia's confederation also opposed.
Italian football has added its voice to the criticism. Juventus chief executive Giovanni Carnevali said on Thursday that "55 federations" stood against FIFA's direction, adding: "I like things done cleanly."
In a LinkedIn post explaining his decision, Cordeiro wrote that the plan would harm FIFA's member federations, football and the sport's long-term future, insisting he had played no part in drawing it up.
FIFA, for its part, blamed "erroneous reporting" for the storm and insisted that "nobody is selling football."
The resignation lands at one of the most delicate moments of Infantino's presidency, as world football's governing body presses on with the investment plan against a wall of opposition from Europe, the Americas and Asia.
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