Real Madrid hails FIFA U-turn on World Cup investor plan

Spanish giants Real Madrid have welcomed FIFA's decision to abandon a controversial plan that would have opened the door to private investment in the World Cup.

Spanish giants Real Madrid have welcomed FIFA’s decision to abandon a controversial plan that would have opened the door to private investment in the World Cup.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino was forced into an embarrassing reversal on Friday. The climbdown came after strong pushback from European football’s governing body UEFA, along with several other confederations who had raised objections to the proposal.

In an official statement, Real Madrid called the decision good news for football, its institutions, and the millions of fans who follow the sport worldwide. The club specifically thanked UEFA, along with various confederations and federations, for standing firm and responsibly opposing the project. According to the statement, this collective show of unity and sense of duty helped protect the game at a crucial moment.

Notably, Real Madrid was once a founding member of the failed European Super League breakaway project, a venture that had strained its relationship with UEFA for years. However, the two parties reached an agreement back in February 2026, aimed at benefiting European club football and putting past tensions to rest.

The controversy at the centre of this latest episode began on Tuesday. FIFA had revealed plans to set up a commercial subsidiary responsible for running its biggest events, including the World Cup and Club World Cup. This subsidiary was designed to be open to private investment, something Infantino claimed could generate as much as $4.2 billion for the organisation.

UEFA led the charge against the proposal from the very beginning. The organisation made clear it would boycott all FIFA competitions if the plan went ahead. It also stated openly that it had lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership, adding to the mounting pressure the FIFA chief has faced in recent days.

Given Real Madrid’s past history with breakaway football projects, their public support for UEFA in this instance carries added weight. It signals a continued effort by the club to align itself with the sport’s traditional governing structures, rather than commercial ventures that risk disrupting football’s existing institutions.

For now, the scrapped plan appears to have averted a serious rift within global football’s governing bodies. Still, with UEFA having openly questioned Infantino’s leadership, uncertainty may continue to surround his position at FIFA in the coming months, even as this particular controversy comes to a close.