FIFA Plans to Sell the World Cup to Private Investors and Europe Is Furious
Finn's Take· TL;DR- FIFA plans to sell minority stakes in a new commercial entity to raise $4.2 billion, with all profits reinvested in global football development.
- UEFA and European teams strongly oppose the plan, arguing the sport's governance isn't FIFA's to sell and criticizing lack of transparency on financial beneficiaries.
- The proposal needs approval from FIFA's 200+ member associations; if passed, it could double annual funding to smaller member organizations from $8 million to $20 million.
Soccer's Global Governing Body Makes a Stunning Financial Pivot
Just days after staging the most lucrative World Cup in history, FIFA has unveiled a new — and instantly controversial — plan to raise more money: selling stakes in its marquee event to private investors for billions of dollars. The ambitious plan would see FIFA establish FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a wholly-owned subsidiary consolidating the organization's commercial and event operations. The entity carries an initial valuation of $20 billion.
The FFE would pool FIFA's commercial side — including broadcast rights, sponsorship, ticketing, and licensing — along with the operational delivery of the tournaments themselves. Under the proposal, FIFA would invite external investors to purchase minority, non-controlling stakes in FFE to raise up to $4.2 billion, with the body saying all net benefits will be reinvested in the game. FIFA said it would retain sole control as well as "exclusive authority" over football governance, competitions, the match calendar, and all regulatory and sporting decisions.
The Kushner Connection and the Investor Group
Thrive Capital, an investment company founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, is leading the search for investors. FIFA plans to partner with Thrive Eternal, a firm that describes itself as a "permanent capital holding company," effectively meaning it owns stakes or companies and holds those investments for an indefinite period. Apollo Sports Capital is also in talks to join the investor group.
FIFA confirmed it is working with U.S. investment bank JP Morgan to set up the new entity. This structure — rolling commercial assets into a new entity and selling equity and profit-sharing rights — has become commonplace across major global sports in the past half decade, similar to what the New Zealand All Blacks rugby organization did with Silver Lake, and Spain's LaLiga did with CVC. The men's World Cup that finished this month only deepened the political and personal ties between Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, fueling concerns about those ties — including from UEFA.
Europe Pushes Back Hard
The backlash was immediate. European soccer governing body UEFA condemned the plan, saying the sport "isn't FIFA's to sell." "The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially," UEFA said. Some European teams are reportedly even considering a boycott over the proposal.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup was a sensational financial success, with the governing body announcing a massive revenue total for its latest four-year cycle — but it did not come without controversy, as FIFA heavily commercialized its flagship event by vastly increasing ticket prices and introducing a new in-house ticket resale vehicle. Critics see the FFE proposal as yet another step in the same direction. Infantino defended the plan as a way to spread the wealth generated by the World Cup globally, saying, "This is about the democratization of football worldwide."
What's at Stake for the World's Game
FIFA says the FFE could raise an additional $10 billion for its member organizations. If members approve the plan, FIFA said it could more than double funding to its member associations from $8 million to $20 million a year — a significant sum for the majority of FIFA's smaller members. FIFA's World Cup media rights represent a massive revenue opportunity going forward. Fox paid only $485 million for English-language rights to the 2026 tournament in the U.S. — a deal that turned out to be a steal, as the World Cup produced the highest non-NFL sports ratings in decades — and bidding for the 2030 rights could reportedly start at $1 billion.
All of this would need approval from the majority of FIFA's more than 200 member associations. The vote among the 211 associations remains pending, with no date yet set for formal consideration by the FIFA Council as discussions continue among stakeholders. The outcome will define not just how FIFA operates, but who ultimately profits from the world's most-watched sporting event — and whether the line between sport and Wall Street has been crossed for good.