A "mystery consortium" of investors from the Middle East and have made a $25 billion bid to FIFA for control over two tournaments, The New York Times reported on Monday.
Citing multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter, the Times reported that the information was presented by FIFA President Gianni Infantino at a meeting with the FIFA Council in Bogota, Colombia, in March.
The bid was for the rights to "an expanded version of FIFA's Club World Cup as well as the rights to a proposed global league for national teams," the Times said. Infantino's request to go ahead with the proposal was rejected by the council, the newspaper added.
The news comes as the FIFA president is attempting to raise revenues for the global soccer body ahead of his possible re-election in 2019. Infantino was elected in 2016 following a corruption scandal that hit the organization in 2015.
Read more about the mysterious bid in the New York Times report.
Correction: This story was revised to reflect that the Times reported FIFA President Gianni Infantino spoke of a bid for two tournaments during a meeting in Bogota, Colombia.