FIFA plan for Kushner-backed $20 billion operation to run World Cup meets fury from Europe’s UEFA
The plan would sell minority stakes in a new subsidiary, with UEFA warning that football’s governance and commercial rights are not assets to trade.
- FIFA President Gianni Infantino officially presented a controversial proposal to create "FIFA Forward Enterprise," a new subsidiary valued at $20 billion designed to manage the commercial operations of the World Cup, with plans to raise $4.2 billion by selling minority stakes to private investors.
- European football’s governing body UEFA sharply condemned the move in an official statement, declaring that "it is not FIFA's to sell" and warning that monetizing global football governance through private capital crosses an unacceptable institutional line.
- Supported by financial advisors like J.P. Morgan, the project reportedly involves high-profile private equity firms including Joshua Kushner's Thrive Eternal, while Infantino seeks to win over FIFA's 211 national member associations by offering them one-off capital payouts of up to $20 million each.
- While Infantino defends the initiative as a step toward "democratizing" football development funding worldwide, critics and rival officials argue that the arrangement lacks transparency and could serve to secure his long-term executive influence over the tournament beyond his presidential term.
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294 Articles
FIFA will consolidate the commercial rights to, among other things, the World Cup in a new company and open the door to private investors. Uefa is taking the plans "extremely seriously".
Just after the World Cup, FIFA announced Tuesday its willingness to set up a company to manage its commercial activities and attract external investors, under the promise of a $10 billion mana to finance the development of football.
Sepp Blatter Slams Gianni Infantino for Selling FIFA to Investors Close to Donald Trump Inner Circle
Sepp Blatter has accused FIFA president Gianni Infantino of trying to 'sell our sport' by moving World Cup commercial rights into a new company and courting private investors linked to Donald Trump's inner circle, warning that their relationship has now reached a 'financial dimension' that he says is harming football. His intervention follows FIFA's announcement that it is exploring a minority sale of commercial rights through a subsidiary known…
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