FIFA President Gianni Infantino had a plan in mind: To “sell” stakes in the 2030 World Cup. In other words, the plan was to privatize football’s biggest event by allowing individual investors to stake a claim on the tournament.
But what exactly does all of this mean?
To get the full picture, it’s worth noting that FIFA, football’s international governing body, is a non-profit organization. As such, the $15 billion revenue generated by the FIFA World Cup 2026 does not go back into anyone’s pockets.
The proceeds from Mr. Infantino’s overwhelming success this past month go back into the member federations around the world. The money goes towards helping each member federation finance part of its operating budget, initiatives to grow the game, and also help underprivileged countries access the sport.
That’s why FIFA has operated since its inception.
That approach would have radically changed under Infantino’s proposed plan. Now, it’s worth underscoring that mounting a World Cup event has a significant cost. And that cost falls on the shoulders of the host country.
In the case of the FIFA World Cup 2026, the host cities footed the bill for the entire infrastructure needed to run the show. Some host cities, despite operating at a loss, still went ahead with the event.
Growing concerns have emerged about the cost of mounting World Cup tournaments. Hence, future events will no longer be limited to just one country. Multiple nations will partake in hosting upcoming World Cups as a means of offsetting costs.
That’s what Mr. Infantino’s plan aimed to solve.
But as private investors assumed the cost and the risk, they would also assume something else entirely.
Infantino’s Plan Would Have Zapped FIFA Members’ Share in Profits
It’s worth pointing out that Mr. Infantino’s brainchild would not have meant “selling” the World Cup, as such. What it would have done is allow private investors a 20% stake in a FIFA entity known as FIFA Forward Enterprise.
The venture would have raised $4.2 billion from an investment firm named Thrive Capital, the Wall Street Journal reported. The fund was founded by Joshua Kushner, younger brother of Jared, President Donald’s Trump’s son-in-law.
Now, it becomes clear why Mr. Infantino has so blatantly cozied up to President Trump over the last couple of years.
That said, Thrive Capital, among other partners, would not have likely “bought” any sort of participation in the World Cup itself. Presumably, the fund would have gotten rights to commercial ventures like TV deals, merchandising, among other income streams.
Host cities and countries would likely get a portion of ticket sales, with other income stemming from tourism being the hosts’ sole incentive for mounting the event.
Meanwhile, FIFA member federations would not have liked the fact that a good chunk of the revenue would not have gone back to them. Rather, an unknown amount at this time would have gone back towards investors in terms of profits.
That’s where federations like the European UEFA drew the line.
Pushback Derailed Investment Project
UEFA pushed back on the plan, making a strong-worded statement against the plan.
“We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game,” UEFA said. “We must identify those responsible and hold them to account.”
As the Wall Street Journal noted, UEFA was hardly pleased with the potential outcomes of Mr. Infantino’s deal.
“The shabby, backroom, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through was anything but transparent,” it added, referring to the FIFA president.
The situation was an evident miscalculation on Mr. Infantino’s part. He figured that the plan would sail unimpeded, riding the coattails of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Alas, that was not the case. And the game is better off for it. The potential for undue influence will be there so long as private investors are in the picture. Considering that FIFA has yet to recover from numerous black eyes preceding Gianni Infantino’s tenure, news of this deal does not bode well for the organization’s reputation.
This is likely the last anyone will ever hear of this plan. But it wouldn’t be surprising to hear of another more refined version emerge at one point or another.
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