New Zealand Football CEO withdraws support for Infantino re-election, calls for probe into asset sale plan

Published Aug 21, 10:54 PM UTC

New Zealand Football CEO Andrew Pragnell has publicly withdrawn support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino's 2027 re-election, opposing his controversial plan to sell FIFA's commercial assets to private investors, including Thrive Eternal, led by Joshua Kushner. Pragnell criticized the plan for lacking consultation with member associations, questionable asset valuation, and excessive concentration of power. He revealed that member associations learned of the plan through media text messages, not official channels. The plan, which would have given each member association $40 million, ultimately fell through. Pragnell is calling for a full independent investigation supervised by the six continental confederations. He also raised concerns about the independence of FIFA's disciplinary committee following the Balogun red card incident and questioned the transparency of the 2034 World Cup bidding process. New Zealand joins several European associations in opposing Infantino, though he remains the sole candidate for the upcoming election with support from Africa and South America.