FIFA faces a mounting backlash over its proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup and other tournaments to private investors, with UEFA warning of a potential boycott and the United Kingdom’s new prime minister denouncing the plan as a sell-out of the world’s most popular sport.
The global football governing body announced Tuesday a plan to create a 0 billion commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise that would raise up to .2 billion by selling minority stakes to outside investors. The vehicle would manage the World Cup and other FIFA events, with proceeds reinvested into football development worldwide.
UEFA, European football’s governing body with 55 member nations, responded with unusually harsh language. This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross, UEFA 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. It is not FIFA’s to sell.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took office last week after replacing Keir Starmer, joined the condemnation. Let me say this very directly, Burnham wrote on social media. Football does not belong to investors. 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.
The proposed investor group is led by Thrive Eternal, a US venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The connection has fueled concerns about the independence of FIFA’s decision-making, though FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended the plan as a way to grow the game globally.
Football is the world’s most popular sport, Infantino said in a statement. Parts of the game have turned that popularity into remarkable commercial value — and we celebrate that success and want it to continue, because it lifts the whole game.
The proposal arrives just days after the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup, won by Spain against Argentina. The tournament itself drew criticism over ticket pricing, a controversial hydration break schedule that critics said prioritized commercial breaks over the flow of play, and the suspension of a red card shown to USA striker Folarin Balogun — a decision that President Trump acknowledged he had discussed with Infantino.
UEFA has called an emergency meeting later this week to discuss the next steps. Options on the table include a formal boycott of FIFA competitions, a move that would reshape global football given that European nations have won six of the last eight World Cups. Only Argentina and Brazil have broken Europe’s grip on the trophy.
The American and Asian football confederations have also expressed concerns. Concacaf, governing football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, said it is deeply concerned by the lack of due process, while the Asian Football Confederation voiced disappointment at being blindsided by the proposal.
Any change to FIFA’s structure requires a vote by its 211 member associations. With 55 of those under UEFA’s umbrella, the European bloc wields significant influence — but falls short of the majority needed to block the plan outright.
FIFA has argued that the World Cup is its primary revenue source and that maximizing its commercial potential benefits football worldwide, from grassroots programs to international tournaments. Critics counter that selling equity in the sport’s crown jewel to private investors creates conflicts of interest and cedes control of football’s future to Wall Street.
Thrive Eternal has not commented on the backlash. UEFA’s emergency meeting is expected to produce a formal position on whether European federations would participate in a World Cup organized under the new commercial structure.
— Pulse Of Nations Wire Desk
Author: Pulse Of Nations Wire Desk
