FIFA must rebuild trust after scrapping World Cup investor proposal, says Boyce

Aug 2 : Former FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce said on Sunday world soccer's governing body should focus on the interests of fans after President Gianni Infantino abandoned plans to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors, calling the proposal "ludicrous".

FIFA had proposed raising up to $4.2 billion by selling a roughly 20 per cent stake in a new entity that would oversee FIFA competitions, including the World Cup.

The proposal, unveiled on Tuesday, drew immediate backlash. European football's governing body UEFA threatened to boycott FIFA events and accused the organisation of putting the sport's "soul" up for sale.

FIFA had argued that selling a minority stake in its commercial operations would generate billions of dollars to support soccer development worldwide and accused the media of mischaracterising the proposal.

"There's no way that this should be sold to investors," Boyce told Reuters.

"If you invest, you're looking to make money out of that investment. FIFA is a non-profit organisation. To promote football throughout the world, they don't need outside investors."

'REPAIR WORK'

Boyce said the episode had left FIFA with considerable work to do to restore trust.

"The average football fan has been sickened by what has happened. They are willing to see what repair work is going to be done," Boyce said.

"The president of FIFA is a very high-ranking position. And now, if he wants to retain his position, he's got to start the repair work caused by the damage from what I can only describe as a ludicrous suggestion."

The pressure on Infantino intensified on Saturday when regional confederations UEFA and CONCACAF said they had lost confidence in his leadership.

The fallout also reached FIFA's inner circle, with Infantino's