FIFA plan for Kushner-backed $20 billion operation to run World Cup meets fury from Europe’s UEFA
The plan would let FIFA sell minority stakes in a new unit while keeping control of competitions and governance, and it could raise $4.2 billion.
- 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.
228 Articles
228 Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
‘Nuclear bomb’: FIFA president’s plan to sell World Cup stake met with fury
An investment vehicle founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, is expected to be a lead investor.
FIFA wants to outsource the commercial rights to the World Cup tournaments to a subsidiary and increase its revenues with the participation of private investors. The planned "sales" of the World Cup triggers massive criticism.
FIFA plan for Kushner-backed $20B operation to run World Cup meets fury from Europe’s UEFA
The outline of Tuesday’s surprise announcement was, FIFA said, detailed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino to members who met in Manhattan on July 18 ahead of the World Cup final.
FIFA's plans for a new commercial company, where private individuals can buy shares, are facing harsh criticism from UEFA.
The UEFA will organize an emergency meeting with its members this week after the announcement of Gianni Infantino's plan to sell part of the Fifa via a commercial company. The continental body and the member federations want to adopt a common position in the face of the initiative of the boss of the...
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