Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada, expressed a lack of confidence in Gianni Infantino's leadership as FIFA president due to his plan to sell part of FIFA's commercial interests to private investors. The proposal would have raised up to $4.2 billion by selling a 20% stake in a subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), valuing it at $20 billion. Carney stated that he did not have confidence in Infantino after the controversy, and criticized the plan as being "not how you run any business." This is the second prominent politician to publicly question Infantino's leadership, following British Prime Minister Andy Burnham's similar comments earlier this week.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The article presents a critical framing of Gianni Infantino's leadership, using words like 'panned' and 'offensive' to describe the reaction to his plan, but the tone is more cautionary than overtly partisan. The criticism from other politicians, such as Andy Burnham and Carlos Cordeiro, is also quoted prominently, suggesting a balanced approach.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score -0.20 for article 511 · logged 2026-08-06
'I don't have confidence' in FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Carney says
Infantino proposed plans to sell part of FIFA's commercial interest to private investors
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Infantino → have → investors
Only weeks after the 2026 FIFA World Cup came to a close, Prime Minister Mark Carney criticized Gianni Infantino's leadership as FIFA president.
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Carney → come → president
"[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 at a news conference on Wednesday.
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Carney → have → Wednesday
The prime minister panned the association's most recent controversy: Infantino's plan to sell off part of FIFA's commercial interests to private investors.
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minister → pan → investors
Under the proposal, Infantino suggested the formation of a commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) that would run competitions like the World Cup.
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that → suggest → Cup
FIFA's plan was to raise up to $4.2 billion US by selling around a 20 per cent stake in FFE, valuing it at $20 billion US.
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plan → raise → US
FIFA said it expected New York-based investment vehicle Thrive Eternal to lead the investor group for FFE.
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Eternal → say → FFE
The vehicle was launched by Thrive Capital, which was founded by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
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which → launch → law
Infantino's plan received pushback almost immediately, including from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).
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plan → receive → Associations
It released a statement saying all of its members would boycott FIFA competitions so long as the proposal remained on the table.
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proposal → release → table
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), of which Canada is a member, also rejected the plan.
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Canada → reject → plan
On Monday, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham weighed in on Infantino's leadership, saying, "I do not believe he is the right man to lead football forward on the world stage."
"The plan that was put forward was offensive to many people, football people around the world, and it can't be the case that we just move on and forget that," Burnham said of the FFE proposal.
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Burnham → weigh → proposal
Carlos Cordeiro, who represented FIFA on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned his senior post over Infantino's private equity plan.
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who → represent → plan
"Carlos Cordeiro is someone I've known for more than three decades," Carney said.
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Carney → know → decades
"Very high integrity individual and he was [Infantino's] adviser and had expertise in all the aspects of what was proposed and he was not consulted
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he → have → aspects
"
"This is not how you run any business, a small business, let alone something that is a global responsibility like football."
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that → run → football
Following the pushback, Infantino said FIFA would scrap the proposal.
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FIFA → follow → proposal
European nations vow FIFA World Cup boycott over Infantino private equity plan, CONCACAF joins in opposition
What you need to know about FIFA's private investment plan — and the backlash
Throughout this year's tournament — which Canada co-hosted alongside the U.S. and Mexico — Carney rubbed shoulders with Infantino, even helping the FIFA president hand out awards at the World Cup final with Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
"
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president → vow → Trump
I've run a few organizations in my time," Carney said.
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Carney → run → time
"The idea that proper governance is not to disclose to your closest advisors, 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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you → disclose → individual
Infantino courting Trump's favour
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Infantino → court → favour
In December 2025, Infantino awarded Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize, a distinction the association introduced a month prior.
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association → award → Prize
"You can always count, Mr. President, on my support, on the support of the entire football community, or 'soccer' community, to help you make peace and make the world prosper," Infantino said while presenting Trump with the award in Washington, D.C.
After the 2026 World Cup kicked off, Infantino sparked controversy when FIFA lifted U.S. star forward Folarin Balogun's red card suspension following a phone call from Trump.
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FIFA → count → Trump
Trump confirmed he asked Infantino for a review of the suspension, saying "I didn't think it was a foul."
"I didn't tell him what to do, I can't tell him what to do," Trump said.
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Trump → confirm → what
Carney was asked who else he would support to take on the mantle of FIFA president, and whether it should be Victor Montagliani, a Canadian and the current president of CONCACAF.
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it → ask → CONCACAF
While Carney said the decision is not his to make and that he would "defer to governance," he described Montagliani as "an exceptional individual" and "a credit to Canada."
"He's someone I know well and have tremendous respect for and loves the game," he said.
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he → say → game
In a release, FIFA said its secretary general and management board "reaffirmed their full support" for Infantino at a meeting in Rabat, Morocco.
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general → say → Rabat
It also said the meeting addressed the FFE proposal, "where mistakes made were acknowledged," and that an apology letter was sent to the FIFA council and member associations.
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letter → say → council
