World governing body set to raise millions from venture
Uefa hits out at sale of football ‘soul and governance’
Fifa has announced plans to sell a share of its commercial operations to private investors, a deal that would include the media and sponsorship rights of all its competitions, including the World Cup.
The world governing body is working with the US bank JPMorgan 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 “over $10bn” (£7.5bn) then being redistributed back to Fifa’s 211 member associations. Fifa confirmed the move on Tuesday afternoon after reports in the Financial Times and the Times.
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.
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 Financial Times reported that Joshua Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, is heavily involved in the deal through his Thrive Eternal fund.
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.”
Under Fifa’s proposals, it would retain responsibility for football’s governance and the international match calendar, but inviting private investment into its commercial rights would subject the decision-makers to significant external pressures. External investors could ultimately be given significant influence over decisions that affect the entire sport, leading to fears that they would seek to stage the World Cup more regularly and only permit it to be hosted in the most lucrative markets, such as the USA. Fifa said it would “carefully select long-term investors who will purchase minority, non-controlling interests in FFE. All net benefits of FFE will be reinvested back into football worldwide.”
Infantino is expected to be re-elected unopposed as president next year despite the huge controversy he attracts, but under Fifa statutes must stand down in 2031 after serving three full terms. The Times reported, however, that Infantino has aspirations to serve as chair of the new commercial company, which could earn him tens of millions of dollars.
