The football world nearly witnessed a tectonic shift in power - and then, just as swiftly as it emerged, it vanished. In May 2025, FIFA President Gianni Infantino floated a blockbuster proposal to sell a stake in the newly expanded Club World Cup to private investors, including Saudi Arabia's SRJ Sports Investments. The backlash was immediate, ferocious, and ultimately fatal to the deal. Infantino abandoned his World Cup equity plan after seismic FIFA backlash. Here's what to know about the collapse, the fallout, and what it means for the beautiful game's future.
The Plan That Sparked a Firestorm
Infantino’s proposal was nothing short of revolutionary - and for countless stakeholders, deeply alarming. At its core, the plan involved selling an equity stake in FIFA’s brand-new 32-team Club World Cup to a consortium of investors led by Centricus and SRJ Sports Investments. The deal was reportedly valued at a staggering $25 billion over a 12-year cycle.
The financial upside was obvious. FIFA would secure a massive cash infusion and de-risk the tournament’s commercial future. But the strategic downsides were equally obvious to critics. European clubs and domestic leagues, along with players’ unions, immediately cried foul. They argued that handing outside investors a slice of a FIFA-owned competition would open the door to corporate control over the global game - and distort a calendar already groaning under fixture congestion.
By May 18 - 19, the backlash had escalated from grumbling to outright revolt. The European Leagues association and FIFPro, the global players’ union, both issued sharp condemnations. The message was simple: football’s competitions belong to the people who play and organize them, not to private equity funds.
📊 $25 BILLION - The eye-watering valuation of the proposed 12-year equity deal that would have handed outside investors a slice of FIFA's Club World Cup.
The Collapse: Why Infantino Blinked
Just days later, on May 20, 2025, reports from Reuters and The Athletic confirmed what many had suspected: Infantino had abandoned the equity sale entirely. The pressure had become too intense, and the optics too damaging. FIFA pivoted immediately, announcing that it would instead launch a dedicated streaming platform - FIFA+ - to broadcast the Club World Cup, keeping full ownership in-house.
Why did a leader as powerful as Infantino cave so quickly? Because the coalition against him was unprecedented in its unity. European leagues, clubs, and player unions rarely speak with one voice, but this issue united them. The threat of legal action, combined with the potential for a public relations disaster during a World Cup year, made the plan untenable. Blinking was the only rational move. As one European league executive bluntly told The Athletic: "This was never about money. It was about who owns the soul of the game."
The Aftermath: What Comes Next for the Club World Cup
The abandonment of the equity scheme didn't mean business as usual. The 2025 Club World Cup, running from June 14 to July 13 in the United States, now carries a $1 billion prize pool, with the winning club taking home a jaw-dropping $100 million. Those numbers remain unchanged - FIFA is spending big to make this tournament matter.
Broadcast rights for the tournament have also been reworked. Instead of a single global equity partner, FIFA is selling rights piecemeal. DAZN holds the rights for the UK and Canada, while many other markets will get matches free on FIFA+. It’s a hybrid model - part pay-TV, part direct-to-consumer - that FIFA hopes will build a new fan base without handing over the keys to the kingdom.
Table: 2025 Club World Cup Prize Money Breakdown
| Position | Prize Money | Share of Total Pool |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | $100 million | 10% |
| Runner-up | $50 million | 5% |
| Semi-finalists | $30 million each | 3% each |
| Group stage participants | $10-20 million | 1-2% each |
