Trump just suffered a global humiliation, as soccer federations from every corner of the planet banded together and torched his inner circle’s plan to cash in on the World Cup.
Set the scene. This is a president who has spent months trying to make the World Cup all about himself. He hijacked the trophy presentation at the final. He collected a “peace prize” from his pal, FIFA president Gianni Infantino. And behind the scenes, his orbit was quietly moving to turn the tournament into a payday.
Infantino announced a plan to sell a 21 percent stake in the commercial operations of the World Cup to private investors, packaged into a shiny new entity he claimed was worth 20 billion dollars. The investor group was reportedly going to be led by a firm run by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s own son-in-law. The biggest sporting event on Earth, lined up as a cash grab for the president’s inner circle.
The soccer world answered fast. UEFA, representing 55 European nations, voted unanimously to boycott every game FIFA organizes, the World Cup included, if the sale went through. Their message was four words long and impossible to misread. The World Cup is not for sale. CONCACAF, the governing body for our own region, threatened to walk too.
Faced with a worldwide revolt, the whole scheme collapsed. Infantino folded and admitted the plan would not proceed. A source close to the deal called it a brand nightmare. And Trump, the man who never misses a chance to plant himself next to that trophy, suddenly claimed he had no idea any of it was happening.
So Trump’s World Cup cash grab is dead. The most-watched event on the planet will not be handed over to the president’s circle, because millions of fans and the federations that represent them refused to let it happen. To everyone who stood up and said no, thank you. You beat him.
BREAKING: The entire soccer world unites to crush Trump’s plan to cash in on the World Cup
