Gianni Infantino abandons plans to sell off stake in World Cup after widespread FIFA backlash

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has abandoned his controversial plan to sell a stake in future World Cup profits to private equity investors after fierce opposition from football's governing bodies.

But, despite walking back on his plans, UEFA has declared a loss of confidence in Infantino, with the Football Association supportive of the stance taken by European football's governing body.

FIFA had announced on Tuesday that it was seeking to launch FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which would bring together the sale of FIFA's commercial rights - including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing - with the operational delivery of its tournaments.

Infantino had then given football associations until September 19 to back his proposals to sell off part of FIFA to private investors with a £30.1m incentive to accept.

But the controversial proposals received fierce criticism from UEFA, CONCACAF (the North American, Central American and Caribbean association) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).