Football's global governing body has moved to place its most valuable commercial assets — broadcast rights, sponsorships, and the World Cup's financial engine — into a new subsidiary open to private investment, framing the arrangement as a gift to the sport's smallest and most overlooked members. UEFA, speaking with unusual urgency, has rejected the premise entirely, arguing that no institution holds football in trust long enough to sell pieces of it. The plan, requiring consent from 211 member associations, arrives shadowed by questions about whose interests are truly being served — and wheth
FIFA plans $20B commercial spinoff, drawing fierce UEFA criticism
The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade
Mark
Why does FIFA need to do this now? What's broken about the current structure?
Mimi
Nothing is broken in the operational sense. FIFA generates enormous revenue from the World Cup and other competitions. But Infantino sees an opportunity to unlock what he calls "commercial potential"—to treat football's broadcast and sponsorship rights as a standalone business that can attract outside capital and grow faster.
Mark
And the member associations get what, exactly?
Mimi
FIFA promises them immediate funding increases and a share of the subsidiary's profits. But the organization hasn't defined what "net benefits" means or what investors actually stand to gain. That opacity is what infuriates UEFA.
Mark
Why would Joshua Kushner's company be interested in owning a piece of this?
Mimi
Because the World Cup generates billions in revenue. If you own a minority stake in the entity controlling those broadcast and sponsorship rights, you're positioned to profit as the sport grows. The question is whether that profit motive aligns with football's interests.
Mark
Does UEFA have the power to stop this?
Mimi
No. UEFA represents only about a quarter of FIFA's member associations. The poorer federations—the ones Infantino is targeting with promises of investment—might vote yes regardless of UEFA's objections.
Mark
So this could actually pass?
Mimi
Almost certainly, unless something shifts dramatically. The real question is what happens to the sport's governance once private investors have a financial stake in FIFA's decisions.
O Pulso
- FIFA is moving to spin off its most lucrative operations into a $20 billion commercial entity, seeking $4.2 billion from private investors whose expected returns remain deliberately undefined.
- UEFA responded within hours, calling the plan a fundamental violation — insisting that football's governance is not an asset class and demanding that clubs, players, fans, and governments treat the matter as a crisis.
- The investor group expected to lead the arrangement includes Joshua Kushner and figures tied to the Trump administration, deepening suspicions that FIFA's decision-making has drifted toward American political and financial interests.
- UEFA controls only a quarter of FIFA's membership, meaning its opposition, however forceful, cannot alone defeat a vote — leaving the outcome in the hands of federations that may prioritize promised funding over governance concerns.
- The weeks ahead will test whether financial incentives offered to smaller associations are enough to override mounting unease about who ultimately profits from privatizing the sport's commercial machinery.
Football's global governing body has moved to place its most valuable commercial assets — broadcast rights, sponsorships, and the World Cup's financial engine — into a new subsidiary open to private investment, framing the arrangement as a gift to the sport's smallest and most overlooked members. UEFA, speaking with unusual urgency, has rejected the premise entirely, arguing that no institution holds football in trust long enough to sell pieces of it. The plan, requiring consent from 211 member associations, arrives shadowed by questions about whose interests are truly being served — and whether the promise of wider distribution can be separated from the reality of private gain.
FIFA announced this week its intention to create a new commercial subsidiary — the FIFA Forward Enterprise — valued at $20 billion, consolidating broadcast rights, sponsorship deals, ticketing, and licensing under a single structure open to private minority investment. The organization says it hopes to raise up to $4.2 billion this year, with all profits pledged to flow back into global football. President Gianni Infantino framed the move as an act of democratization, promising increased funding even for the sport's most remote and underfunded corners.
UEFA's response was immediate and unsparing. The European federation declared that football's soul and governance are not commodities, and that no institution holds the authority to sell them. It called on associations, leagues, clubs, players, supporters, and governments to take the matter seriously — though UEFA represents only about a quarter of FIFA's 211 member associations, limiting its ability to block a vote alone.
The investor lineup has sharpened the controversy. Joshua Kushner's holding company Thrive Eternal is expected to lead the group, while Greg Maffei — formerly of Liberty Media during its Formula 1 ownership — has been advising FIFA on the structure. JP Morgan is handling investment banking. The connections to American financial and political circles are not incidental: Infantino's alignment with the Trump administration has already attracted scrutiny, from the reversal of a red card suspension benefiting the US team during this summer's World Cup to Trump's receipt of FIFA's inaugural Peace Prize last December.
The plan now awaits a vote. If member associations approve, capital-raising could begin at once. The deeper question — whether commercial expansion and institutional integrity can coexist under these conditions — will not be settled by the vote alone.
FIFA announced this week that it intends to carve out a new commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion and sell minority stakes to private investors. The governing body framed the move as a path to greater financial benefit for its 211 member associations, pledging that approval would unlock immediate funding increases. Within hours, UEFA—European football's governing federation—issued a withering public response, calling the plan a transgression that crosses a boundary the sport's institutions should never breach.
The subsidiary, to be called the FIFA Forward Enterprise, would consolidate FIFA's most lucrative commercial operations: broadcast rights, sponsorship agreements, ticketing, and licensing deals. The World Cup generates the lion's share of this value. FIFA says it aims to raise up to $4.2 billion this year by selling non-controlling interests to carefully vetted long-term investors, though the organization has not specified what constitutes "net benefits" or what returns investors themselves might expect. All profits, FIFA claims, would flow back into football globally.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has positioned the restructuring as a democratization of the sport—a way to spread football's commercial value more equitably across wealthy and poor federations alike. He invoked the newly branded FIFA Fast Forward Programme, emphasizing investment in remote and underfunded regions typically overlooked by commercial logic. "We intend to invest heavily even in the smallest or most remote parts of the footballing world," Infantino said in the organization's statement. The timing is deliberate: the announcement came just after the World Cup final in New York, and Infantino had signaled this ambition to member associations ahead of that tournament.
UEFA's objection was swift and unsparing. The European federation argued that football's governance and soul are not commodities to be monetized, particularly without transparency about who profits from the arrangement. "None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA's to sell," UEFA stated. The federation called on national associations, leagues, clubs, players, supporters, and governments to take the matter seriously. Yet UEFA's reach is limited—it represents roughly one quarter of FIFA's member associations, meaning its opposition alone cannot block the plan.
The investor lineup carries its own weight. Thrive Eternal, a holding company established this year by Joshua Kushner—brother of Jared Kushner, senior advisor to US President Donald Trump—is expected to lead the investor group. Greg Maffei, who previously served as CEO of Liberty Media during its ownership of Formula 1 motor racing, has been advising FIFA and will remain involved in establishing the subsidiary. JP Morgan is handling investment banking services, while Rome-based OpenEconomic is engaging prospective investors. FIFA says it has received interest from every major global region.
Infantino's alignment with American interests and the Trump administration has already drawn scrutiny. The World Cup itself, hosted primarily in the United States this summer, generated controversy—including FIFA's reversal of a red card suspension for US striker Folarin Balogun before a match against Belgium, and Trump's receipt of FIFA's inaugural Peace Prize last December. These moments fueled questions about the independence of FIFA's decision-making. The announcement of a commercial spinoff led by Trump-connected investors intensifies those concerns.
The plan requires approval from FIFA's member associations. If they vote yes, the subsidiary could begin raising capital immediately. UEFA's fierce opposition signals that the sport's governance structure is fracturing along familiar lines—between those who see commercial expansion as necessary evolution and those who view it as a betrayal of football's institutional integrity. The next weeks will reveal whether member associations, particularly those outside Europe, see the promise of increased funding as worth the price of privatizing the game's commercial machinery.
Citações Notáveis
We intend to invest heavily even in the smallest or most remote parts of the footballing world, places that are too often passed over.— Gianni Infantino, FIFA President
This crosses a line that football's governing institutions should never cross. The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade.— UEFA statement
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