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Kushner on FIFA Partnership: We Misread Football’s Political Dynamics
🇸🇮 Slovenia /Sports

Kushner on FIFA Partnership: We Misread Football’s Political Dynamics

From Delo · () Slovenian

Translated from Slovenian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Joshua Kushner said Thrive Capital’s planned involvement in a FIFA company that would help organize World Cups did not proceed because the investors underestimated football’s political dynamics.
  • The proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise was reportedly valued at $20 billion, with Kushner expected to invest $4.2 billion; critics said it was prepared secretly to generate investor profits.
  • UEFA is seeking documents and testimony from Kushner and Thrive Capital in New York as it prepares possible legal action against FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Joshua Kushner has publicly addressed for the first time a failed plan to create a FIFA-backed company that would help organize World Cups. He said the project represented a major opportunity for football, but its backers misjudged the political struggle inside the sport.

Kushner’s investment firm, Thrive Capital, worked confidentially with FIFA for months on a proposed company called FIFA Forward Enterprise. The plan reportedly valued the company at $20 billion, with Kushner expected to contribute $4.2 billion. FIFA President Gianni Infantino had presented the project as a way to direct additional funding to the organization’s member associations.

Although we still stand behind FIFA’s plans, we did not understand the political dynamics of world football and how far some people were prepared to go. If we had known what it would become, we would not have become involved.

— Joshua KushnerKushner explained why Thrive Capital joined and later withdrew from the proposed FIFA partnership.

“Although we still stand behind FIFA’s plans, we did not understand the political dynamics of world football and how far some people were prepared to go. If we had known what it would become, we would not have become involved,” Kushner said in a statement to AFP.

Suspicious, non-transparent and concluded behind closed doors.

— Aleksander ČeferinThe UEFA president’s description of the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise.

Critics argued that the plan had been developed behind closed doors to create profits for investors. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin called it “suspicious, non-transparent and concluded behind closed doors.” UEFA subsequently called for Infantino’s removal and, according to AFP, is preparing a criminal complaint.

The dispute could now draw Kushner and Thrive Capital into legal proceedings. U.S. media reported that Kushner could face subpoenas after UEFA asked a New York court for permission to require him and his company to provide documents and answer questions. Kushner defended the concept by saying football funding had previously been concentrated in a small number of countries, while FIFA Forward Enterprise would have distributed more capital among all 211 members. He is also a key investor in a still-pending $12.5 billion acquisition of the Los Angeles Lakers, a deal involving Luka Dončić.

The idea behind FFE was to direct more capital among all 211 members.

— Joshua KushnerKushner defended the project as a way to distribute football investment more broadly.
About this summary

Originally published by Delo in Slovenian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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