FIFA president scraps plans to sell World Cup stake

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has abandoned plans to sell a stake in the World Cup, Sky News reported Friday, citing exclusive comments from the football body's chief.

Infantino said the initiative had become too contentious to pursue. "Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place," he told Sky News.

"Our purpose has always been - and will always be - to unite and improve," he said, adding that FIFA's mission remained unchanged.

"This proposal will not proceed," he said.

Infantino said he intends to reconvene stakeholders, stating his goal is "to continue growing football everywhere, and particularly in those countries that mostly need our support."

The scrapped plan had sought to sell more than 20% of a new $20 billion FIFA Forward Enterprise subsidiary to private investors, according to a report.

On Tuesday, FIFA announced plans to establish a $20 billion subsidiary to manage the World Cup and its other competitions, with up to a 20% stake to be offered to external investors.

Infantino, 56, developed close ties with Donald Trump during this year's World Cup, making repeated efforts to cultivate relations with the US president, including presenting him with FIFA's inaugural Peace Prize in December.