Infantino's Fifa plan is on the ropes - but don't underestimate his ability to survive, writes Ian Payne
At the end of the day, he controls the money, honey.
It looks like Gianni Infantino's latest grand scheme might finally have hit a brick wall.
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Essentially, he wants to see about 20% of the World Cup sold off to private equity. It's a bit like the privatisation of water or gas here in the UK.
It would obviously bring FIFA a lot of money. It would probably make some of the people who work there better off too. You never know.
It appears the idea came about after Infantino spoke to one or other of the Trump family, who basically said, "The World Cup's very successful. Why don't you privatise a bit of it?"
Well, plenty of people in football weren't keen on that idea.
Many voices in the game immediately had serious misgivings. Their argument was straightforward enough. Football is the people's game, not the hedge funds' game.
Then UEFA stepped in.
European football's governing body is hugely powerful, and its message was simple. If FIFA went ahead with these plans, Europe would boycott the World Cup.
That would mean all 55 European nations refusing to play, not just in the men's World Cup but in the women's tournament as well. And with the Women's World Cup next summer and the play-offs coming up this October, that would be a massive stand-off.
Infantino's response appeared to be to double down.
The message was that if FIFA's member countries didn't vote for the plan, they wouldn't receive the money they were expecting.
But things have moved on again.
Now the American federation and the Asian federation have joined the Europeans - that probably means FIFA's plans are in serious jeopardy.
Whether it also means the end for Gianni Infantino is another matter.
He's the great survivor.
So I wouldn't be surprised if he hangs on.
Because, at the end of the day, he controls the money, honey.
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