FIFA is considering selling a minority stake in the World Cup’s commercial rights, a plan that critics say would turn soccer’s biggest tournament into an investment asset and threaten to upend the sport.
FIFA said Tuesday that it will create a $20 billion subsidiary to house its commercial and event operations and offer external investors the opportunity to buy shares of up to 20% of the subsidiary. FIFA claims that offering minority interests to private investors would allow it to raise up to $4.2 billion that can be used to fund soccer development programs worldwide. FIFA says it would retain sole control of the enterprise and “exclusive authority” over its competitions, governance, and all regulatory and sporting decisions.
“Football is the world’s most popular sport and an extraordinary engine of human and social development,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement. “Parts of the game have turned that popularity into remarkable commercial value—and we celebrate that success and want it to continue, because it lifts the whole game.”
But the move has faced backlash from soccer officials, fans, and political leaders, who say it would overly commercialize the sport. Critics also fear that it could deepen FIFA’s already-controversial ties with U.S. President Donald Trump through potential investors linked to his family. The proposal comes on the heels of the 2026 men’s World Cup, which was co-hosted by the U.S. and brought in a record $12 billion in revenue for the organization.
“The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade—especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially,” European soccer body UEFA said in a statement. The organization is reportedly planning to hold an emergency meeting this week to discuss plans to oppose the proposal, including a potential World Cup boycott.
“The close relationship between the FIFA President and the US President has reached a financial dimension that is deeply damaging football,” posted Infantino’s predecessor, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who was dogged by accusations of corruption and financial mismanagement during his tenure but has since become a vocal critic of his successor. “No one has the right to sell our game.”
Plan to bring in external, Trump-linked investors
The commercial subsidiary, “FIFA Forward Enterprise” (FFE), would consolidate FIFA’s commercial rights, including broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing, with the operational delivery of FIFA tournaments. The enterprise would raise capital and significantly increase funding for its 211 member associations through a new “FIFA Fast Forward Program,” according to FIFA’s announcement.
The existing FIFA Forward program is budgeted to provide $8 million in development funds to each member association during the 2027-30 World Cup cycle. Under the proposal, the new FIFA Fast Forward Program would increase funding to $20 million each during the upcoming cycle, and to $22 million and $24 million each for the following four-year cycles through 2038.
Each member association would also be able to access an optional $20 million in one-off, immediate funding for infrastructure, coaching, national teams, competitions, grassroots football, and the women’s game.
But the underlying plan has drawn scrutiny for its ties to Thrive Eternal, a company launched by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Thrive Eternal is a permanent capital investment firm created earlier this year to buy and hold minority stakes in sports teams and other iconic brands.
“Outside investors will have only a minority stake in FFE and will not play any operational role,” FIFA said in its announcement. “Equally, they are investing in a subsidiary of FIFA, and not in FIFA itself. For FIFA, nothing changes.”
TIME has reached out to FIFA for comment. Thrive Capital, a venture capital firm founded by Kushner, said it did not have a comment to provide at this time.
Soccer confederations, lawmakers criticize proposal
UEFA, which represents 55 FIFA member associations, was not the only soccer body to express concern about the proposal.
CONCACAF, the confederation that governs soccer in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean and that represents 35 of FIFA’s member associations, said it was “deeply concerned by the lack of due process,” including the fact that plans had been announced “before any discussion with the relevant governance bodies and stakeholders has taken place.”
The Football Association, England’s national football governing body, also said it was “deeply concerned about the lack of process and governance to get to this point, and the apparent substance and principles involved.” FA Chair Debbie Hewitt is one of FIFA’s eight vice-presidents.
The Asian Football Confederation also expressed concern about the proposal and said it was not consulted on it. The body, which represents 46 FIFA member associations, said it “is disappointed that a matter of such significance entered the public domain” before it was discussed “through the appropriate and established governance channels.”
The outline of the proposed project was shared with FIFA’s member associations in Manhattan on July 18, FIFA told the Associated Press. The final decision on the proposal will require majority support from FIFA’s member associations and approval by the FIFA council.
The proposal comes as relations between UEFA and FIFA have strained. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin skipped the World Cup final after disputes with FIFA over disciplinary procedures and match operations. UEFA said FIFA had “crossed a red line” when FIFA suspended the implementation of an automatic one-match ban for U.S. forward Folarin Balogun, who had received a red card, after Trump’s reported intervention.
Infantino, who is up for reelection as head of FIFA next year, has faced criticism from UEFA over his close ties to Trump and what critics say is a lack of transparency in FIFA’s decision-making. Infantino was scrutinized after accompanying Trump on a Gulf tour instead of attending the start of the FIFA Congress in 2025, prompting a UEFA-led walkout.
Ahead of this year’s World Cup, some European soccer officials and politicians called for fans to boycott the U.S. games, citing both Infantino’s friendship with Trump and the Trump Administration’s immigration and foreign policies. Infantino was also criticized for presenting Trump with a newly-created FIFA Peace Prize, and for opening a FIFA office in New York’s Trump Tower, a property owned by the Trump Organization.
“FIFA, Donald Trump’s favorite corrupt racketeering enterprise in world sports, is now going directly into business with the Trump family!” the House Judiciary Democrats posted on X. “Apparently the fake Peace Prize and giant lease with Trump Tower weren’t enough—now Infantino performs a kickback hat trick by pursuing a multibillion-dollar deal with Jared Kushner’s brother to sell ownership stakes in the World Cup to private investors.”
The Democratic committee members said the proposal was an example of “more oligarch corruption” after FIFA’s use of dynamic pricing helped push World Cup ticket prices to unprecedented levels. Earlier this week, the group of lawmakers called on Infantino to sit for an interview about “deceptive” ticket practices and alleged corruption between him and Trump.
Andy Burnham, who became British Prime Minister earlier this month after Keir Starmer resigned, also criticized the proposal.
“Let me say this very directly. Football does not belong to investors. It belongs to the people who fill the stands and who stand on the touchline week in, week out, rain or shine,” Burnham posted on X. “The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone’s to sell. Dress the deal up however you like. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out.
“Football belongs to the fans. It always has, and it always will.”
