UEFA, British PM upset over FIFA’s plan to sell stake to external investors

NEW YORK – A plan by FIFA to create a new commercial subsidiary valued at US$20 billion (S$25.8 billion), offering a stake of up to 20 per cent to external investors, has drawn immediate sharp criticism from European football’s governing body UEFA.

Under the plan, which FIFA announced on July 28, the world football body would establish FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a subsidiary consolidating the organisation’s commercial and event operations.

Having just held a 48-team World Cup across the United States, Canada and Mexico that was the biggest in the tournament’s history, FIFA would retain control of the enterprise, but offer stakes to private investors to raise up to US$4.2 billion.

A vehicle founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, is expected to be a lead investor in the enterprise, a source said.

The proposal deepens the divide between Switzerland-based FIFA and UEFA, with Europe positioning itself as the custodian of the game while FIFA, a not-for-profit organisation, remains focused on broadening access with financial largesse.

Under the proposal, FIFA would invite external investors to purchase minority, non-controlling stakes in FFE. It said it would retain sole control as well as “exclusive authority” over football governance, competitions, the match calendar and all regulatory and sporting decisions.

FIFA, which is one of the world’s wealthiest sporting organisations, generating billions of dollars in revenue, says the money raised can be used to widen access to the sport and strengthen global participation, with all net benefits to be reinvested in the game.

In a statement, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said football’s popularity has “remarkable commercial value – and we celebrate that success and want it to continue, because it lifts the whole game”.

FIFA’s statement was a rapid response to a story in British newspapers The Times and The Financial Times based on leaks of the plan from two sources.

The Times reported that Infantino, 56, stood to profit from the scheme by becoming commissioner of the FFE after his expected next term expires in 2031. FIFA denied that this had been discussed.

The article also said discussion had started with financial advisors and potential investors, including an arm of JPMorgan Chase, the US bank that attempted to finance the failed breakaway European Super League.

Fierce criticism

Sepp Blatter, Infantino’s disgraced predecessor, drew attention to the American connection.

“The close relationship between the FIFA President and the US President has reached a financial dimension that is deeply damaging football. No one has the right to sell our game,” the former FIFA president posted on social media.

UEFA, which has been critical of Infantino, also responded.

“This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross. UEFA takes it extremely seriously,” said UEFA’s 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. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”

A FIFA spokesperson said the proposal will soon be presented to the 211 member associations (MAs) and the FIFA Council, which would be the sole final decision-makers on the matter.

FIFA said money from the capital raised would be used to establish an optional programme that would allow member associations to receive additional development funding and access up to US$20 million in one-off capital to be used for infrastructure, coaching, national teams, competitions, grassroots football and the women’s game.

It said it aims to increase funding per MA from US$8 million to US$20 million for the 2027-30 cycle and grow that steadily, targeting US$24 million by the 2035-2038 cycle. The plan would still have to be approved by the 38-member FIFA Council.

“Together with other existing FIFA programmes, these investments could bring FIFA’s total planned development funding to more than US$10 billion over the next four years,” FIFA said.

Infantino, who is up for reelection as head of FIFA in 2027, said every member association should have the opportunity to seek a fair share of the available funding to shape its own future.

“This is about the democratisation of football worldwide,” he added.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, an Everton fan, decried the plan, saying football was not a product.

“Football does not belong to investors,” he said in a post on X. “It belongs to the people who fill the stands and who stand on the touchline week in, week out, rain or shine.

“The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone’s to sell. Dress the deal up however you like. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out. Football belongs to the fans. It always has, and it always will.”

Conflict of interest

The Times quoted an unnamed “senior football figure” calling the plan “potentially much worse than the European Super League”, as it would have an impact on all levels of football across the globe.

Another anonymous source told the British paper that the plan would create “unacceptable” conflicts of interest for FIFA and Infantino.

In 2019, a FIFA stakeholders’ committee rejected an Infantino-backed plan for a US$25 billion private investment in an expanded Club World Cup. Reported backers included SoftBank of Japan and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. FIFA did expand that competition from seven teams to 32 clubs in 2025.

The Times speculated that the creation of FFE could have an impact on the World Cup and the Club World Cup.

“It could lead to pressure for both events to be further expanded or played more regularly than the present once every four years,” it wrote. REUTERS