Football fans' power still strong as FIFA's World Cup plot follows Super League to scrap heap

FIFA’s embarrassing plan to sell the World Cup lasted less than four days before it was scrapped. Under-fire president Gianni Infantino, whose position now appears to be untenable, only unveiled the woeful plot on Thursday.

The reaction was instant. Football didn’t want this. And through the combined power of football supporters, governing federations and even some of Infantino’s closest advisors, the plan has landed on the scrap heap.

In an effort to potentially save face, the FIFA president released a statement in the early hours of Saturday morning confirming that the plan had been cancelled entirely.

It read: “The FIFA Forward Enterprise project was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening our FIFA Member Associations and our sport worldwide, especially in those countries where support is most needed.

“And more so, as we said from the outset, to do this only if a majority of the FIFA Member Associations were in support and always subject to a consultation process with them, the FIFA Council, the Confederations and wider stakeholders.

“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.

“Our purpose has always been - and will always be - to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed.

“Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support.”

And while Infantino will attempt to hide his humiliating u-turn, football fans should celebrate that their strength has seen the idea binned. They were of course helped by threats of boycotts from UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation - as well as Infantino’s senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro resigning from his position.

It left the 56-year-old in a near-impossible position as revealed by UEFA vice-president Laura McAllister. Speaking after the news, she said: "He had to be pushed into that corner and that is regrettable of course, but I think it showed the unity of football when we face such an existential crisis.

"But it really shouldn't have come to this, I think most of us believe this was a hugely misguided and potentially catastrophic proposal and it should never have been put on the table. I am delighted we were able to fight it off."

It is of course not the first time that the sheer power of fans has forced football governance to alter its course - the most infamous example being the plot behind the European Super League back in 2021.

The scandalous project was officially confirmed on April 18, with 20 of Europe’s biggest clubs confirmed to be part of it. The backlash was again instant.

Fans mobilised with protests outside of their club’s stadiums, the UK Government expressed its displeasure over the plans and ironically Infantino publicised his opposition. Players also spoke out, while high-profile managers including Arsene Wenger, Jurgen Klopp and Sir Alex Ferguson slammed the plot.

UEFA and FIFA (again, ironically) tried to intervene but the organisers of the Super League hit back with threats of legal proceedings in European courts designed to block any sanctions that they might have in mind.

Under the crippling weight of the fan and governing body backlash, the first cracks in the Super League plot began to show. Just 56 hours after the initial announcement, Manchester City became the first club to pull out and they were eventually followed by all of their Premier League rivals.

And just like that, the European Super League was dead in just a matter of days - allowing for a couple of rogue clubs who were bizarrely willing to pursue the plans for years - but that’s another story.

It’s now taken less than a week for Infantino’s baffling plot to be unpicked. Football has come together to decide its future for itself.

In an age where the game seems to be moving away from the common man and closer to the elite - as evidenced by the sky-high prices of this summer's World Cup - it’s heartening to know that there is still the potential for the normal, match-going supporter to have an impact on the future of the beautiful game.

It leaves Infantino in an untenable position. His intentions are now clear. While he has been able to stomach a humiliating defeat, whether he is now able to relinquish his power right at the top of FIFA remains to be seen.

Should football fans want him gone, he needs to make sure that he doesn’t underestimate their opinions. After all, he too could end up lasting days.