Key facts
- Alex Spiro will represent Joshua Kushner and Thrive Capital in a legal dispute with UEFA over FIFA's World Cup sell-off plan.
- UEFA is pursuing legal action against FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino, alleging criminal mismanagement.
- The plan involved selling stakes in a new entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise, for $4.2 billion.
- UEFA is seeking documents from Thrive Capital regarding the valuation of the proposed entity.
- Joshua Kushner stated Thrive Capital would not have participated had they foreseen the controversy.
Alex Spiro, an attorney known for representing high-profile clients including Elon Musk and Jay-Z, has been retained to represent Joshua Kushner and his company Thrive Capital in a legal dispute with FIFA over its proposed sale of stakes in a new subsidiary. UEFA initiated litigation against FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino, challenging Infantino's plan to sell stakes in FIFA Forward Enterprise, which would hold the commercial rights to the World Cup, to outside investors including Thrive Capital.
UEFA is seeking discovery requests in U.S. courts for communications between FIFA officials, Infantino, and Kushner as it weighs a complaint to Swiss courts over alleged "criminal mismanagement." The football body aims to establish who at FIFA and outside the organization knew about the plan and how any individuals might have benefited from it. UEFA and its counsel are contemplating Swiss criminal proceedings against Infantino and potentially other FIFA officials for criminal mismanagement under Swiss law, asserting UEFA has standing as a complainant.
FIFA and Infantino have been embroiled in controversy since details of the plan to raise $4.2 billion by selling stakes in FIFA Forward Enterprise emerged. The proposed entity would have been owned by FIFA's 211 member associations, with the option to sell secondary shares to private investors. Thrive Capital had agreed to be a lead investor in a potential $4.2 billion sale of secondary shares, representing 20% of the entity at a $20 billion valuation. However, European teams, along with North American, Central American, and Caribbean associations, voiced strong opposition due to concerns over potential outside influence, particularly from private equity. This backlash led FIFA to scrap the plan before member associations could vote.
Kushner stated that the motivation behind the FIFA Forward Enterprise was to direct more capital and equity equally among all 211 member countries, providing greater investment to underdeveloped nations. He acknowledged that Thrive Capital "failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football" and that they "would not have gotten involved" had they known how the situation would devolve.