FIFA's World Cup Investment Plan Sparks Fight Over Football's Future
FIFA is pushing forward with a plan to sell a minority stake in a new commercial entity valued at roughly $20 billion, and the proposal has triggered one of the sharpest confrontations between FIFA and UEFA in years.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino unveiled the plan on Tuesday, days after the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup. The new entity, called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), would house FIFA's commercial and event operations, including media rights, ticketing, licensing and sponsorship tied to the World Cup and FIFA's other tournaments, including the Club World Cup and women's and youth competitions.
Under the plan, FIFA would retain control of the entity while selling up to roughly 20 percent of it to outside investors. FIFA says the sale could raise as much as $4.2 billion, based on the $20 billion valuation, by bringing in what Infantino described as long-term investors taking minority, non-controlling stakes.
FIFA is working with JPMorgan Chase on the process. Reported prospective investors include Thrive Eternal, a fund launched by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is a son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. That connection has drawn added scrutiny given FIFA's increasingly close ties to the Trump administration throughout the 2026 World Cup cycle.
The Money on the Table for Member Associations
FIFA has framed the plan around its benefits for member federations. Under a related initiative called the FIFA Fast-Forward Program, FIFA says its 211 member associations could receive up to $20 million each in development funding through 2038, rising to $22 million and then $24 million in later cycles. That would replace the $8 million per cycle currently promised through the 2027-30 World Cup commercial cycle.
Funding would be aimed at infrastructure, grassroots football, coaching, national teams and women's football. Infantino has cast the plan as a way to spread football's wealth beyond its richest federations, describing it as part of the sport's democratization.
UEFA's Response
UEFA reacted within hours of FIFA's announcement, calling the plan a line that football's governing institutions should never cross. In a statement, UEFA said football is not FIFA's to sell and that none of the game's stakeholders own it outright.
UEFA also warned that bringing private capital into the commercial structure around the World Cup risks compromising the sport's independence, arguing that the soul and governance of football should not be treated as tradeable assets, particularly without transparency about who stands to benefit financially.
The European body, which represents 55 national associations, is reportedly moving to hold an emergency meeting this week to weigh its options, including the possibility of a World Cup boycott.
FIFA's Counter
FIFA has pushed back on suggestions that the deal would hand outside investors influence over the sport itself. The federation says investors in FFE would hold financial stakes in a separate commercial entity, not in FIFA, and would have no say over competition rules, tournament formats or sporting decisions. FIFA has also given no indication that it intends to change the World Cup's format or frequency as part of the plan.
What Happens Next
The proposal now goes to FIFA's 211 member associations for consultation, followed by a vote requiring approval from a majority of members and FIFA's 37-member council. It marks the second time in Infantino's 11-year presidency that he has attempted to bring in a multibillion-dollar private investment deal, and it comes just weeks after FIFA's handling of the 2026 World Cup itself drew criticism, including from national federations and the Council of Europe, over integrity standards.
For now, fans will notice no immediate change. But the standoff between FIFA and UEFA sets up a defining test of how the World Cup, and the football economy built around it, gets financed in the years ahead.