I Crunched the Numbers Behind FIFA's Plan to Sell Shares in the World Cup. Dear God.
Joshua Kushner is expected to lead the investment, FIFA’s voting associations stand to receive billions, and Gianni Infantino could retain power over world football long after his presidency ends.
On July 26, Gianni Infantino published an extraordinary message to critics.
The FIFA president accused journalists and other detractors of having been “consumed by hate and criticism” during the World Cup. Those sitting “behind their pens”, he wrote, had spread false rumours while FIFA worked on the front lines to deliver the tournament. He reduced the relationship between FIFA and its critics to five words: “While you divide, we unite.”
Forty-eight hours later, FIFA asked those same critics, and the football world, to absorb a proposal that would fundamentally change how the sport is financed.
FIFA plans to create a new commercial company called FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE. The company would combine FIFA’s broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing rights with the operational delivery of its tournaments across men’s, women’s and youth football.
Private investors would be invited to buy minority interests. FIFA hopes to raise up to $4.2 billion on an initial equity valuation of $20 billion, meaning that outside investors could collectively acquire roughly one-fifth of the business.
Infantino described FFE as a “focused, dedicated business” whose value would be shared more widely across the game. The money raised would finance a new programme offering each of FIFA’s 211 member associations up to $20 million for major development projects. Infantino called it the “democratisation of football”.
Incidentally, Infantino stands to benefit colossally from this new arrangement, according to the Times, as he could become a chief executive of FFE, placing him in a commissioner-type role for world football once his term as FIFA president expires.
And the announced lead investor in this scheme is Joshua Kushner, brother to Jared, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump.
UEFA responded that the proposal “crosses a line”, pointing to the absence of transparency over who ultimately benefits.
The Sports and Crime Briefing breaks down the numbers and what they mean.
Takeaway 1: FIFA Is Selling Part of Its Commercial Future
FIFA is not offering investors shares in FIFA itself.
It is constituted as a Swiss association, governed through its member associations rather than conventional shareholders. FFE would be a separate company, initially owned and controlled by FIFA.
The scale of the proposed subsidiary matters. FFE would bring together FIFA’s commercial rights, including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing, with the delivery of tournaments across men’s, women’s and youth football.
