Furious over being blindsided by secret World Cup deal-making, senior FIFA officials are plotting an internal mutiny dubbed Project “Kill The Monster” to oust President Gianni Infantino, The Post has learned, after his plan to privatize the World Cup collapsed.
The Zurich-based organization’s top brass are furious with the sports technocrat over his secret talks to sell off the global body’s commercial assets and are working to push him out of the top job, four senior FIFA sources said.
“This was a step to far, it’s time to kill the monster,” said one executive at the Swiss non-profit.
A second source briefed on the matter said the global soccer body could hold no confidence vote, but executives were hoping to pressure their boss into quitting.
“But they will tell him that will be embarrassing and he should step down before,” the insider added.
The Post broke the exclusive news on Friday that the $20 billion spin-off of the global soccer body’s commercial assets had collapsed.
The latest revelations come after European soccer’s governing body declared no confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Saturday after the global organization axed a controversial plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
UEFA leaders celebrated the death of the private equity deal, but they made clear their fight with Infantino is not over, demanding strict accountability for the secret negotiations that almost handed control of global soccer’s biggest events to outside buyers and effectively calling on him to step aside.
“The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,” UEFA said.
It comes after The Post broke the exclusive news on Friday that the $20 billion spin-off of the global soccer body’s commercial assets had collapsed.
All 55 European member nations united to reject the massive financial project. They were joined by a global coalition of fans, leagues, clubs, and political leaders who stood against the sale. The intense pressure forced Infantino to withdraw the proposal.
However, UEFA signaled that stopping the deal was just the first step. The group promised a thorough review of how the proposal was created, stating that no option is off the table to prevent a repeat.
“We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game,” the statement said.
The failed plan aimed to spin off FIFA’s commercial operations and sell a large stake to private equity. Supporters of the deal promised huge cash payouts to smaller member nations.
UEFA fired back by pointing out that FIFA already sits on vast wealth. The governing body noted that FIFA currently holds more than $5 billion in its cash reserves.
“We must start to use some of that money that is sat idle in FIFA’s bank account to deliver the kick start that the grassroots and the wider game need in each of the 211 countries of FIFA,” UEFA stated. “But we don’t need to sell off the family silver to pay for it.”
European leaders also used Infantino’s own words against him. They recalled his 2016 election promises, where he pledged complete transparency and promised that FIFA’s money belonged to the national associations.
According to UEFA, the FIFA boss failed to deliver on both fronts.
“The shabby, back room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through were anything but transparent,” the European governing body added.
UEFA will now work with global partners to pitch a new way of sharing resources. They plan to use the existing FIFA Forward program to send more money to grassroots soccer without giving up control to investors.
While the immediate threat of a private takeover is dead, Infantino now faces massive political isolation as he clings to power.
“This is a victory for the whole game. But it must not be the end of the story,” UEFA concluded. “The proposal has gone. The task of rebuilding trust in FIFA has only just begun.”
The cracks inside FIFA began to show on Friday.
Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour told The Associated Press that senior staff felt completely deceived by Infantino. He called the secret deal a “lie by omission” that ruined internal trust and governance.
Lamour knows his harsh words could get him fired. Still, he urged political leaders in the sport to take immediate action against the FIFA boss, adding, “At least I’ll sleep well tonight.”
The outrage also forced Carlos Cordeiro, a top adviser to Infantino, to resign on Friday. Cordeiro firmly stated he could not stand by while FIFA tried to sell a stake in the World Cup.
These sharp attacks leave Infantino deeply isolated as European soccer leaders quietly hunt for a challenger to replace him in March.
Ashish Prashar, political strategist, urged the football world to unite and “kick Infantino out.”
“It is imperative that this coordinated attempt to steal and gut football to line their own pockets is stopped and never allowed to rear its ugly head again,” he said
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