Not sure it comes as a massive shock...

(Guardian)

Fifa accused of ‘selling the soul of football’ over $20bn World Cup commercial rights sale plan

Fifa has announced plans to sell the commercial rights to its tournaments, including the World Cup, to private investors in a controversial move that triggered an immediate backlash from Uefa and leading European clubs.

Uefa released a strongly-worded statement accusing Fifa of “attempting to sell the soul of football” and is believed to be considering its legal position, while sources at numerous elite clubs were highly critical of the proposal in private.

Fifa has confirmed it is working with US bank JP Morgan on setting up a new entity – to be called Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) – that would raise hundreds of millions of dollars by selling a significant stake in the commercial rights of the men’s and women’s World Cups, and the Club World Cup to investors, with promises of an increase in distribution of “over $10bn” then being redistributed back to Fifa’s 211 member associations. Thrive Capital, an investment company founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is leading the search for investors.

The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, said the plan would see “the commercial side of the game [operating] as a focused, dedicated business, with its value shared more and better all around the world”. The plans are subject to approval by a “majority” of member associations, but Fifa declined to comment when asked when a vote will take place.

Numerous sources with knowledge of Fifa’s proposals said it is valuing the new commercial venture at around $20bn, with Infantino looking to cash in on football’s growing global popularity following this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Guardian revealed this month that Fifa’s revenues for the tournament would exceed $15bn, a significant increase on the projected figure of $13bn, with such growth appearing to embolden Infantino to seek further riches..

The revelation of the plans provoked an immediate backlash from Uefa, with the European governing body accusing Fifa of attempting to sell the soul of football. Relations between the two most powerful organisations in the sport are at an all-time low, with Uefa claiming Fifa undermined the integrity of the World Cup this month when it intervened to overturn the USA striker Falorin Balogun’s red card after President Trump had personally called on Infantino to do so.

“This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross,” Uefa said of the FFE plan. “Uefa takes it extremely seriously. So should every National Football Association. So should every stakeholder: leagues, clubs, players, supporters, governments and everyone who cares about the future of the game.

“The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade – especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not Fifa’s to sell.”

Infantino had succeeded in keeping Fifa’s plans under wraps until reports of the proposal first emerged in the Times and Financial Times. Fifa Council members are understood to have been surprised by the announcement having been sidelined from the decision-making process.

User Posted Link

Posted By: DrDublin on July 28th 2026 at 18:03:28

Message Thread

Reply to Message

In order to add a post to the WotB Message Board you must be a registered WotB user.

If you are not yet registered then please visit the registration page. You should ensure that their browser is setup to accept cookies.

Log in