White House World Cup Adviser Quits in Protest of FIFA Deal: ‘Why Now? Who Benefits?’

Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo

FIFA’s White House representative for the World Cup stepped down on Friday morning in protest of the organization’s heavily criticized plan to sell off stakes in the beloved international tournament.

Carlos Cordeiro slammed FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s plan, which has sparked rebellion in the global soccer community, with more than 100 countries so far rejecting the $20 billion deal.

“I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro said in a statement.

“Let me be clear. I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally,” he said, calling it “a bad deal for football.”

The plan, which Infantino made public earlier this week, calls for the creation of a new body, FIFA Forward Enterprises or FFE, which would give investors “influence” over future World Cups and is bankrolled by Josh Kushner, brother of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, according to reports.

The former banker, who once worked as president of U.S. Soccer, previously served as a vice chairman at Goldman Sachs and has a degree from Harvard Business School, made clear he thought Infantino’s effort to sell up to 21% of world soccer’s governing body to private investors stunk.

Cordeiro said the plan “is a bad deal for the long-term future of the game,” noting that FIFA “sits on billions of dollars in reserves and [has] no debt.

“The FIFA president himself has highlighted the $15 billion in revenue generated between 2022 and 2026. If Member Associations believe additional investment is needed to develop the gam, FIFA already has the financial capacity to provide that support from its existing resources,” he wrote in his statement.

“Against that backdrop, selling a permanent stake in football’s most valuable asset to raise $4.2 billion makes little sense. It is mortgaging football’s future without any compelling justification.”

He then went further.

“Most troubling of all is the absence of answers to fundamental questions. Why this deal? Why now? What oversight exists? Who benefits? Was there a competitive process? What governance will be in place? What will investors ultimately gain, and at what cost to football?”

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