Gianni Infantino’s $US20 billion ($28.7 billion) proposal to sell stakes in FIFA’s events and competitions arm to corporate investors has drawn condemnation from football’s international organising confederations.
On Tuesday the FIFA president announced a bid to form a commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) that would grant private buyers control over competitions including the World Cup and Club World Cup.
Amid immediate opposition from global football’s most influential confederation, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Infantino also set out a one-off $US20 million ($28.7m) funding boost for FIFA member nations who vote to approve the FFE bid.
The commercialisation, frequency and scale of the FIFA World Cup and other tournaments will be determined by investors if the deal is approved. (Reuters: Mark J Rebilas)
The announcements are the latest in a string of controversial decisions made by Infantino without consulting football’s major stakeholders.
So, is it going to work and — if so — how? Here’s what you should know.
Firstly, what is the FIFA Forward Enterprise?
FIFA, a non-profit organisation, described the FFE as “a new FIFA-owned and controlled subsidiary consolidating FIFA’s commercial and event operations”.
The governing body said it would retain control of the subsidiary and authority over football governance, competitions, match calendars and regulatory decisions.
Infantino said FIFA’s hope was that the FFE could generate enough commercial revenue to raise $US20 million in additional funding by 2030 for the further development of “infrastructure, coaching, national teams, competitions, grassroots football and the women’s game” in member nations worldwide.
“Parts of [football] have turned [its] popularity into remarkable commercial value – and we celebrate that success and want it to continue, because it lifts the whole game,” Mr Infantino said in a statement.
“Our next stage of growth needs a structure built for it, one where the commercial side of the game operates as a focused, dedicated business, with its value shared more and better all around the world.“
FIFA also highlighted how much money each of its 211 members could receive in the “FIFA Fast-Forward Program” initiative the FFE would financially bolster.
Instead of the currently-promised $US8 million ($11.5m) to be distributed during the 2027-30 World Cup commercial cycle, the FFE would generate $US20 million, then $US22 million ($31.6m) and $US24 million ($34.5m) in the following cycles, FIFA said.
If the FFE is approved, members could choose to take part in any additional financial opportunities created under the leadership of the subsidiaries’ investors.
If it is rejected, members would only get a previously-promised $US10 million ($14.3m).
Who are the private investors?
The effort is being bankrolled by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
An investment firm owned by Joshua Kushner has been named by FIFA as a frontrunner to bankroll the FFE bid. (Reuters: Brendan McDermid)
Infantino said the bidding process would encourage “a pool of diverse international investors”, although FIFA named Kushner’s Thrive Eternal investment firm as the frontrunner.
On its website, Thrive says it “builds and invests in internet, software, and technology-enabled companies”.
FIFA also said Greg Maffei, the CEO of Bann Ventures which develops healthcare, hotel, commercial and residential spaces, would become “a key commercial adviser” in the FFE’s creation.
Maffei is the former president of Liberty Media, which acquired Formula One in 2017.
How have confederations reacted?
UEFA was the first governing organisation to openly condemn Infantino’s proposal.
“It is not FIFA’s to sell,” it said in a statement.
“The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially.
“None of us are the owners of football.“
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) — which includes Australia and Middle Eastern nations as members — said it was not consulted about the proposal.
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) said it was “deeply concerned by the lack of due process” surrounding the proposal, while the Confederation of African Football said it would host a meeting of members in the coming week to discuss the bid.
Football Australia only confirmed on Thursday that it had received notice from FIFA detailing the proposal.
“As this is the first time we have been made aware of the initiative, we are now working to understand the proposal in full,” a statement said.
“We have requested further information from FIFA to properly assess the strategic, commercial, and governance implications of such a significant step.”
What happens next?
Infantino has set FIFA’s members a deadline of September 19 for a decision to be made on the FFE.
The proposal’s future is set in a game of numbers that will be determined by votes lodged by each of FIFA’s 211 member nations.
While UEFA has been the most vocal confederation in opposing the FFE, it only represents 55 nations in Europe.
FIFA’s Congress operates on a strict one vote principle applied to each member, meaning Infantino’s push could still be approved with a majority vote of approval from the remaining 156 nations.
The equation could see smaller nations who have less access to overall FIFA finances compared to some of UEFA’s larger European giants swayed by Infantino’s funding offer.
Why now, and what could investors gain?
Tim Harcourt, a UTS professor of sports economics and author of the Footynomics website, said while it was “unusual” for a global governing body to seek to sell its sport to private investors, he was not surprised the proposal came less than a fortnight after the end of this year’s FIFA World Cup.
“The World Cup surprised people [with] how well it went,” he told the ABC.
“Nothing that potentially could have gone wrong in a World Cup happened. So, I think there’s a lot of confidence right now in FIFA.”
Donald Trump has previously flagged he would like to see the United States host an additional FIFA World Cup during his presidential term. (Reuters: Dylan Martinez)
Harcourt said he expected the FFE could lead to FIFA hosting more large-scale events such as the World Cup more frequently and on a bigger scale.
The FIFA World Cup is currently held every four years. This year’s cup was expanded to include 48 nations for the first time, however Infantino has flagged the governing body is considering a 64-team event for the 2030 tournament.
Private investors could also champion more opportunities to cash in on advertisement potential, such as this year’s controversial “hydration break” mid-match pauses, Harcourt said.
“You have to be careful about control of the game, you have to be careful of corporate governance and you have to be careful of saturating the game,”
he said.
“The fact that the World Cup happens every four years … There’s quite a nice balance.
“There’s sort of natural life cycles in these things you don’t want to play around with too much.”
Harcourt suggested there may be an element of international politics playing into the FFE announcement.
Jared Kushner was one of the chief architects and negotiators of the Abraham Accords that were signed in 2020 between Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
The deals were brokered by the Trump administration as part of a broader push to integrate Israel more fully into the Middle East.
In the wake of the US war in Iran and the 2034 FIFA World Cup expected to be hosted by Saudi Arabia, Harcourt said “football diplomacy” could impact how the FFE takes shape.
If that link were to come to fruition, it would mark the latest alignment between Infantino and Trump after he created the FIFA peace prize that was awarded to the US president, and allowed Trump to intervene in a process that led to United States forward Folarin Balogun playing at the World Cup.
ABC/Wires
By
