A wave of fierce criticism has swept across global football this week after FIFA unveiled plans to sell a minority stake in the commercial operations of the World Cup and other top tournaments through a newly created private subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). The proposal, announced Tuesday, would see global football’s governing body retain a majority controlling share of FFE, while targeting $4.2 billion in funding from carefully selected long-term investors purchasing non-controlling minority holdings by the end of 2024.
Controversy deepened almost immediately after multiple media outlets reported that FIFA president Gianni Infantino had sent a private letter to all 211 FIFA member associations, offering each association up to $40 million in funding for the 2027-2030 competition cycle if they approved the plan before the September 19 deadline. Opponents quoted in The Times, which first broke the story, have already labeled the incentive package “pure bribery.”
Critics across the global football ecosystem have lined up to reject the proposal, with European governing body UEFA emerging as the most vocal opponent. UEFA vice president Hans-Joachim Watzke told German outlet Kicker that “many in European football see FIFA’s plans as an outright attack on football. I share this view. A line has been crossed here.” According to France’s sports minister, UEFA will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss a coordinated response to the plan. In an official statement, UEFA argued: “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.”
The proposal has also drawn sharp rebuke from top global political and sports officials. European Union Sports Commissioner Glenn Micallef posted a clear message of opposition on social platform X, writing “Hands off our game.” Andy Burnham, the Mayor of the United Kingdom’s Greater Manchester region and a lifelong football fan, also condemned the proposal, saying “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.” CONCACAF, the governing body for North and Central American football, cited “deeply concerned by the lack of due process,” while the Asian Football Confederation says it is “disappointed” that it was not consulted before the plan was announced.
Further questions have been raised about potential conflicts of interest and the background of interested investors. The Times reported that 56-year-old Infantino stands to personally benefit from the scheme by taking a leadership role as FFE commissioner after his current presidential term expires in 2031, a claim FIFA has denied. Early discussions with potential investors have already included Thrive Capital, an investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner — brother of Jared Kushner, former US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law — and a division of JPMorgan Chase, the US bank that infamously tried to finance the failed 2021 European Super League breakaway.
FIFA has defended the plan in its official statements, emphasizing that it “would retain sole control of FFE and exclusive authority over football governance, competitions, match calendar, and all regulatory and sporting decisions.” The governing body projects FFE will carry an initial equity valuation of $20 billion, and added that small and low-income member associations would also be offered a one-off 0.1 percent stake worth $20 million, a sum that represents a major financial incentive for smaller national federations. For context, FIFA already projects record annual revenue topping $8 billion for 2026, after the first expanded 48-team World Cup, and has openly discussed expanding the tournament further to 64 teams in future cycles.
Many senior football figures have warned the proposal poses an even greater threat to the future of global football than the European Super League. An unnamed senior football insider told The Times the plan is “potentially much worse than the European Super League,” as it would reshape the entire structure of the sport at every level across the world. This is not Infantino’s first attempt to secure large-scale private investment in FIFA competitions: a 2019 stakeholders’ committee rejected an Infantino-backed $25 billion private investment plan for an expanded Club World Cup, which included reported backing from Japan’s SoftBank and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. FIFA eventually pushed through an expansion of the Club World Cup to 32 teams starting in 2025 despite the earlier rejection.
The Times speculates that if approved, FFE could create ongoing pressure to expand the World Cup and Club World Cup beyond their current size, and to stage the tournaments more frequently than the current four-year cycle. The plan still requires formal approval from FIFA’s 38-member ruling council and a majority vote of the 211 member associations, with FIFA set to present the full proposal to the council in the coming weeks.