FIFA President Gianni Infantino's plan to sell a significant stake in the future profits of the World Cup and other FIFA events faced intense opposition, leading to its abandonment. The proposal involved creating a new commercial subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which was valued at $20 billion. FIFA aimed to raise $4.2 billion by selling approximately a 20% stake in FFE to private investors, with Thrive Eternal, launched by Joshua Kushner, identified as a potential "anchor investor."
The plan offered a one-time payment of $20 million to each of FIFA's 211 member federations, a significant increase from the $10 million they were already slated to receive over the next four years. However, major soccer bodies, including Europe's UEFA, North America's CONCACAF, and Asia's soccer organization, strongly rejected the proposal. UEFA even threatened to boycott FIFA competitions if the plan proceeded, expressing concerns that selling stakes would prioritize financial returns over the integrity of the sport and introduce undue external influence.
The backlash was swift and severe. Senior FIFA adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned in protest, calling the plan a "bad deal for FIFA's Member Associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game." Other senior staff members reportedly claimed Infantino had deceived them. Facing overwhelming opposition and potential boycotts that could divide world soccer, Infantino announced the abandonment of the plan, stating it had "created divisions of a nature that... are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place."
