UEFA has accused FIFA president Gianni Infantino of “crossing the line that football’s governing bodies should not cross” after it emerged that he is planning plans to sell shares of the World Cup to private investors.
An initial report by The Times revealed that the deal would see the company brought together to oversee FIFA’s top tournaments in men’s and women’s sports, including the World Cup and the Club World Cup. The plan could see Infantino earn tens of millions and increase the chances of the World Cup and Club World Cup being held more often than every four years.
Under the plan, FIFA’s 211 member organizations will receive a stake that they can keep or sell to raise money. In addition, it is said that Infantino, who will be re-elected without opposition until 2031, will be appointed to the position of commissioner of the company after the end of his last term as president.
The majority stake in the company will belong to FIFA, with private investors taking around 20 to 30 percent and member states each having a small share. The plan is reported to have already been discussed between FIFA senior officials and potential stakeholders.
People close to the current US presidential administration are reported to have been approached about the plan and, following initial reports, FIFA confirmed to The Times that the plan is being considered, with Joshua Kushner – the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared – a proposed investor. American banking firm JP Morgan has also been floated as an investor.
UEFA criticizes Infantino’s plans
UEFA, football’s governing body in Europe, has been heavily critical of Infantino recently. Earlier it accused him of “crossing the red line” by coming to the “mysterious and unjust thing” of stopping the ban of the United States striker Folarin Balogun in their World Cup last 16 match against Belgium following pressure from the American president Donald Trump.
And it didn’t hold back in criticizing him again on Tuesday.
The statement issued by UEFA reads as follows: “This crosses a line that football governing bodies should not cross.”
“The soul and management of football is not for sale – especially if there is no transparency about who benefits financially. None of us owns football. It is not for FIFA to sell.”
In a recent statement confirming these plans: “In accordance with its mandate, FIFA management is considering the idea of combining FIFA’s commercial rights – including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing, and licensing – with the delivery of FIFA’s tournament operations through the establishment of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). The consultation process has begun following the adoption of a possible proposal for the opening of rights and the opening of FIFA rights. across the men’s football tournament portfolio, women and youth.
Key to this will be the repositioning of FIFA Forward, FIFA’s flagship development program, which aims to increase FIFA Member (MA) funding from USD 8 million to USD 20 million in the 2027-30 cycle and grow steadily thereafter. This funding will help infrastructure, training, national teams, tournaments, grassroots football and the women’s game.
This process follows the speech of FIFA President Gianni Infantino to the FIFA Council and FIFA member organizations before the FIFA World Cup 2026 finals in New York, where he reiterated his intention to “unleash the commercial power and opportunity that FIFA has”, a position that was already mentioned in his speech at the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, Canada, in April 2026.
Infantino said: “Football is the most popular sport in the world and an extraordinary engine for human development and well-being. Parts of the game have turned that popularity into significant commercial value – and we celebrate that success and want it to continue, because it elevates the whole game. Our job is to ensure that all football grows with it: FIFA exists to support sustainable, inclusive development.
“As a global governing body, FIFA has a responsibility to ensure that the game reaches every corner of the world, and that the old value supports federations and communities everywhere. Our next phase of growth requires a structure that is built for itself, where the commercial side of the game operates as a focused, dedicated business, and its value is shared better and better around the world. Every FIFA Member Association must have the opportunity to choose its future rather than its own, instead of choosing its future which is available, should have the opportunity to decide for itself. This is about the democracy of the world.
“We intend to invest heavily even in the most remote areas of the football world, areas that are often overlooked. Every FIFA Member Association, regardless of size, resources, or location will have a voice and opportunity to determine its course. Football has become a truly global game so the benefits should be felt around the world.”
The statement continued: “In the same way as other sports governing bodies have dedicated commercial subsidiaries, FIFA will invite third parties to invest small, non-controlling amounts in the FFE.
“Any such investors can be selected against a clear long-term, governance, and strategic process. They will represent a geographically diverse group that reflects the global nature of the game, acting as a minority, long-term partner who can contribute capital and commercial expertise in support of FIFA’s mission to grow the world game. FIFA will retain the authority to control the FFE competition, the governing body of international football only and the majority governing board and all regulatory and sporting decisions.
“Although FIFA has always created independent subsidiaries, FIFA is now negotiating with MAs and the FIFA Council in this regard due to its strategic importance.
“Subject to these final agreements and necessary approvals, Thrive Eternal, a wholly-owned capital company, is expected to lead the proposed FFE investor group. Greg Maffei, CEO of BANN Ventures and former President and CEO of Liberty Media at the time of its acquisition and ownership of Formula One, has been a key commercial advisor and will continue to be involved in the establishment of FFE.”
“As part of this initiative, JP Morgan is engaged to work with FIFA, and other consultants such as OpenEconomics are negotiating with potential long-term investors. This initiative focuses on bringing together a group of geographically diverse investors that reflect the global nature of FIFA and the game; expressions of interest so far include investors from all major regions of the world, Asia, Africa and Africa.
“The President of FIFA and the management of FIFA have the duty to control the development of this project. Foreign investors will only have a small part in FFE and will not play an operational role. Equally, they are investing in a subsidiary of FIFA, not in FIFA itself. In FIFA nothing has changed.”
Plans raise the possibility of further expansion of the World Cup
The idea of giving shares to member organizations is considered as a way to ensure that the plans receive approval from the FIFA conference and council, since in small countries the shares can be more valuable than the annual income.
FIFA’s revenue for the 2022-26 cycle is expected to be $15 billion, most of which comes from the sale of World Cup TV rights and funds from sponsorships and ticket sales and hospitality.
After expanding the World Cup from 32 teams to 48 participating in this year’s competition, Infantino said this month a proposal from South America to expand to 64 teams will be considered. Given the large sums of money that have flowed into this year’s tournament, private investors will clearly view the World Cup as attractive because of the potential for expansion or regularity of the tournament.
However, one of the biggest winners of the program that will come to fruition will be Infantino. As commissioner or CEO of the new company, he is expected to pay the same annual salary as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who earns about $64m a year. Infantino’s current salary is estimated at $6m.
