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FIFA seeks private capital for World Cup business, sparks UEFA criticism
🇦🇷 Argentina /Sports

FIFA seeks private capital for World Cup business, sparks UEFA criticism

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • FIFA is considering opening its lucrative business operations to private capital through a significant restructuring of its commercial model.
  • The move has drawn criticism from UEFA, which argues that FIFA does not own football and should not sell it.
  • The proposal, discussed in New York, aims to increase revenue from FIFA's competitions to be distributed among its 211 member federations and six confederations.

FIFA is exploring a significant shift in its business model, evaluating the possibility of opening its most valuable commercial operations to private investment. This potential restructuring has already sparked a strong reaction from UEFA, which has voiced firm opposition to the idea.

UEFA issued a sharp statement asserting that "none of us owns football" and that it is not FIFA's place "to sell it." This stance highlights a growing tension between the two governing bodies, particularly concerning the commercialization of the sport.

The initiative, first discussed at a FIFA Council meeting in New York on July 17, aims to better leverage the commercial value of FIFA's competitions. The goal is to generate more revenue, which would then be distributed among the 211 national federations and six continental confederations. FIFA argues this will help correct disparities in football's economic growth across different countries, ensuring more equitable support, especially for historically less-favored regions.

One of the companies reportedly linked to the project is Thrive Eternal, associated with Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, who is a former advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump himself attended the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain in New York shortly after the FIFA meeting.

If approved by member associations, the plan involves creating a new entity, tentatively named FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). This company would manage television rights, sponsorships, ticketing, licensing, and operational aspects of tournaments, including the men's and women's World Cups and the Club World Cup. FIFA maintains that while commercial exploitation will be enhanced, it will retain absolute control over all sporting decisions. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has framed the initiative as a "democratization of football worldwide," giving every member association a fair share of available funds to shape their own future.

no le corresponde a la FIFA venderlo

— UEFAUEFA's statement criticizing FIFA's proposal to involve private capital.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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