Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he no longer has confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino following the controversy surrounding a proposed plan to sell part of the football governing body's commercial interests to private investors.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, 5 August, Carney criticised the way Infantino handled the proposal, which involved the creation of a new commercial entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), to oversee major competitions, including the FIFA World Cup.
The plan reportedly aimed to raise up to $4.2 billion through the sale of a 20 per cent stake in the subsidiary, placing the estimated value of the business at about $20 billion.
“FIFA have their own procedures for making those determinations, but certainly I don't have confidence in Mr Infantino after this point, given what transpired and given the nature of what transpired,” Carney said.
The proposal faced strong opposition from several football authorities, including UEFA and CONCACAF. UEFA had threatened to boycott FIFA competitions if the move went ahead, while CONCACAF also rejected the idea.
Carney also raised concerns over the resignation of Carlos Cordeiro, who had represented FIFA on the White House Task Force for the 2026 World Cup. He described Cordeiro as a long-standing acquaintance with a reputation for integrity and questioned why he was not consulted despite his expertise and advisory role.
“This is not how you run any business, a small business, let alone something that is a global responsibility like football,” Carney said.
Following the widespread criticism, Infantino confirmed that FIFA would drop the proposal to sell a stake in its commercial operations.
The controversy emerged after Carney and Infantino had appeared together during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which was jointly hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico. The two figures were also present at the tournament final, where they took part in the presentation of awards.
Carney said the failure to consult key advisers and board members over a major business decision was unacceptable.
“I've run a few organisations in my time,” he said. “Not to disclose to your closest advisers, your chief operating officer, your fellow board members, something of consequence that you're even considering, let alone proposing, that should be fatal and you lose confidence in that individual.”
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