Fifa president Gianni Infantino is facing a furious backlash over plans to sell shares in the World Cup — a proposal that could reportedly earn him tens of millions of pounds and has triggered emergency talks among European football’s governing bodies.
Fifa announced on Tuesday its intention to expand football development funding to more than $10bn (£7.5bn) by inviting third-party investment into its competitions, including the World Cup. The plans, first reported by the Financial Times and the Times, would see a new subsidiary — Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) — consolidate commercial and event operations. Thrive Eternal, an American venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared, is expected to lead the investor group. The proposal still requires approval from Fifa’s 211 member nations.
“Fifa's plan to sell World Cup shares sparks anger from Uefa, FA, PM Burnham and CONCACAF.”
But the move has drawn sharp condemnation. Uefa issued a statement accusing Fifa of “crossing a line”, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham said going ahead would mean Fifa had “sold out”. Writing on X, Burnham declared: “Football does not belong to investors. It belongs to the people who fill the stands … The World Cup is not a product. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out.”
The Football Association added its voice in a statement published on Wednesday, saying it was “deeply concerned” and had been “completely unaware of this proposal”. The FA noted the “lack of process and governance” and said it would comment further when full details were shared. CONCACAF, the confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean, echoed the criticism, saying it was “deeply concerned by the lack of due process” and that it shared the disappointment within the region.
Uefa is set to hold emergency talks on Wednesday, with the possibility of discussing a breakaway from Fifa competitions — a drastic move that would reshape world football. Fifa sources have told BBC Sport there has been no discussion over Infantino becoming chief executive of FFE, though Fifa’s statement said Infantino and the organisation “has a duty” to control the project’s development. Infantino himself defended the proposal, saying every nation should benefit: “Our job is to make sure the rest of football grows with it.”
With confederations united in opposition and the vote of 211 member nations looming, Infantino’s vision of private investment faces its toughest test yet.