Is FIFA selling off the World Cup? Your questions answered

The proposed change is brazen and divisive, and it's led to considerable outrage within the soccer community. But why? And how? And what comes next? Here are your questions about FIFA's latest controversy answered.

Why would Gianni Infantino want to sell control of FIFA's biggest cash cow?

Because doing so grants Infantino more personal control over the tournament — and more personal control over the money that flows through it.

Infantino aims to be CEO of the new external consortium that will run the World Cup's operations and stake sales (he's calling it FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE). Running the FFE would, at least in theory, give Infantino a salary similar to that of the commissioner of a major sports league; NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was paid roughly $64 million in the last year his salary was publicly released. Infantino makes a package of approximately $6 million today, so the personal gain for him is potentially significant.

At FIFA, Infantino is forced to win regular elections to maintain his power. As CEO of an external firm, his leadership over the World Cup would be far less tenuous. This World Cup ownership switch would make Infantino much richer and much more secure in his power.

How would a move like this get passed?

By getting support from the majority of FIFA's 211 member nations ... and Infantino's plan to give them all a quick infusion of $20 million apiece (and predicted infusions of similar sizes in the future) could make that achievable.

Every vote carries the same weight in FIFA; world champion Spain's opinion matters exactly as much as that of the Marshall Islands, FIFA's newest and least-influential member. Previous FIFA executives have leveraged this to form powerful voting blocs from under-resourced nations across Africa, Asia, Oceania and North America, and Infantino could find success here by doing the same.

Why would a member nation vote against it?

Two reasons: soul and transparency.

On the "soul" front, the entire European division of FIFA — UEFA, the owner and operator of the successful Champions League — rejected Infantino's proposal outright. 

"This crosses a line that football's governing institutions should never cross," it said in a statement. "The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade -- especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially.

"None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA's to sell."

On the "transparency" front, Infantino's plan really hasn't been explained in detail to any member nations — but each one must decide to accept its "stake" or reject it by Sept. 19 of this year, all the same. The AFC, Asia's division of FIFA, took particular umbrage with this. 

"The AFC firmly believes that all stakeholders should be provided with sufficient information and adequate time to assess the proposal in full, including its governance, legal, commercial and strategic implications," it said in a statement of its own.

It's kind of grubby that national soccer federations are being handed $20 million and told to accept it or reject it without any idea what they're really signing up for, right?

Yes. Very grubby indeed.

What happens if this new proposal is approved?

Drama, that's what.

UEFA (Europe's association of soccer federations) and CONMEBOL (South America's) have long chafed against FIFA's consolidated power within the game and fought for greater influence over soccer's future. If this proposal to sell the game off is approved, UEFA and CONMEBOL could break free of FIFA altogether and start their own competing organization ... leaving FIFA running World Cups without any participation from European or South American teams.

So the 2026 World Cup could wind up being the last of its kind?

Indeed, it could. Savor the memories because the World Cup might never look the same again.