THE LOWDOWN — THE FULL HISTORY
THE CROWN
The 2026 World Cup had 48 teams, three host countries and $13 billion in revenue for the cycle. Gianni Infantino called it "the greatest human, social and cultural event that mankind has ever witnessed", and spent years courting Donald Trump.
THE PRICE
Under dynamic pricing, average ticket prices rose 34%, and three US Attorneys General opened investigations.
THE SALE
On 28 July FIFA announced the FIFA Forward Enterprise, a $20 billion company holding tournament rights including the World Cup, and planned to sell around 20% for $4.2 billion to a group led by Joshua Kushner.
THE REVOLT
UEFA's 55 associations voted unanimously to boycott all FIFA competitions. Carlos Cordeiro resigned, calling it "a bad deal for football", and COO Kevin Lamour called it "the project of one person". Within 72 hours Infantino dropped the plan. Wales, Serbia and Sweden withdrew support for his re-election, which goes to a vote in Rabat on 18 March 2027. Reports of unanswered calls to the White House are denied by FIFA and the State Department.
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THE TERRACES — DISCUSSION
The argument also lives in the YouTube comments ↗.