Key facts
- FIFA plans to sell stakes of up to 20% in the World Cup and other events.
- A new subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise, would be created to manage these competitions.
- The goal is to raise up to $4.2 billion through minority stakes for private investors.
- UEFA has strongly criticized the proposal, calling it a line that should not be crossed.
- UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated the World Cup is not a product to be sold.
Football's world governing body, FIFA, has announced plans to sell stakes of up to 20 percent in the World Cup and other major events to private investors. The proposal involves creating a new subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise, valued at $20 billion, to manage these competitions and aims to raise up to $4.2 billion.
FIFA stated that it would retain a majority share and sole control over the subsidiary, emphasizing that all net benefits would be reinvested in football to widen access and strengthen global participation. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the plan aims to ensure the entire sport grows with its commercial success.
However, the proposal has provoked a strong negative reaction from UEFA, the European football governing body. UEFA called the plan a move that "crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross" and stated that "the soul and governance of football are not assets to trade – especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially."
United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham also joined the criticism, asserting on social media that "The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone’s to sell."
The plan still requires a vote from FIFA's 211 member nations. The proposed investor group is expected to be led by a vehicle founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump.