FIFA World Cup plan fallout: AFC reacts as Infantino scraps investment push

Asian Football Confederation says FIFA future must be ‘shaped through proper consultation’ after World Cup plan fallout.Published On 1 Aug 20261 Aug 2026Asian Football ‌Confederation (AFC) President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has ⁠welcomed FIFA’s ⁠decision to walk back plans to sell a stake in the World Cup and stressed the need ⁠to discuss all such moves with transparency in the future.FIFA’s plan was to raise up to $4.2bn by ⁠selling about a 20 percent stake to private investors in a new unit that would run FIFA events, including the World Cup.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Why has Infantino scrapped FIFA’s World Cup investment plan? What to knowlist 2 of 4FIFA forced to scrap World Cup private investment plan after backlashlist 3 of 4FIFA COO Lamour says staff deceived over Infantino’s World Cup planlist 4 of 4Infantino’s senior adviser resigns over ‘bad’ FIFA World Cup planend of listThe proposal, first announced on Tuesday, had faced a storm of ‌opposition from regional confederations, including the AFC, which said they were blindsided by the announcement.Following the backlash, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said world football’s governing body had s...