FIFA wants to sell the World Cup: Gianni Infantino’s latest proposal
“Today we learned that there is a deadline to accept the proposal or lose the extraordinary payment. That says everything you need to know about this plan,” said the entity chaired by Aleksander Čeferin, which also claimed to have spoken with different actors in world football and detected an “increasingly broad” opposition to the project.
UEFA responded with another statement as soon as it learned that there was a deadline to join the initiative. For the European body, the ultimatum confirms the doubts that already existed about the way FIFA has been pushing this transformation.
The economic difference did not go unnoticed. The British media itself stated that sources close to the opponents described the proposal as a “simple bribe,” an expression that reflects the growing level of confrontation around the project.
According to the document cited by The Times, Infantino explained that each federation will independently decide whether to join the project. If it does, it will be able to access the new economic fund from January 1, 2027. If it decides to reject it, it will continue to receive only the resources already planned within the Forward program, whose budget amounts to 2.7 billion dollars for the next cycle.
The proposal, presented just one day earlier by Gianni Infantino, promised to generate a fund of 10 billion dollars to promote the development of football. However, the debate quickly left the sporting field to settle in the political one. Europe opposed it from the first moment and Asia questioned not having been consulted. Now, the appearance of an economic incentive raised the temperature even more.
FIFA ULTIMATUM!
According to the British newspaper The Times this Wednesday, FIFA informed its 211 affiliated federations that each one could access up to 40 million dollars if it supports, before September 19, the project that seeks to open the door to private investors through the creation of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), the new company in charge of managing the commercial businesses of the organization.
Wednesday’s meeting will be the first attempt to build a joint position in the face of a proposal that threatens to open one of the biggest political and economic debates football has experienced in recent decades.
However, the explanations did not convince Europe. UEFA, which had already publicly rejected the initiative a day earlier, reiterated that this project represents a boundary that the institutions in charge of governing football should never cross.
From Zurich, FIFA insisted that it will retain control of the new company through a majority on its board and will maintain absolute authority over essential aspects such as governance, the international calendar, tournaments, and game regulations.
French Sports Minister Marina Ferrari confirmed the call through her social networks and asked Europe to act with one voice in the face of an initiative that, she warned, could alter the balance on which modern football has been built. For the official, the magnitude of the project requires a coordinated response among the continent’s institutions.
After FIFA announced its intention to create FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a company intended to manage its commercial businesses and attract private investment, the main European football institutions decided to call an emergency meeting for this Wednesday. The feeling is clear: the game is no longer played on the field, but in the offices where the future of the sport is discussed.
UEFA has not been the only one to react to FIFA’s intention. Various entities and voices spoke out from Europe to express their concern about the project promoted by Gianni Infantino.
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For now, the proposal remains in a preliminary stage and must be analyzed by the member associations and the FIFA Council before any final decision. However, UEFA’s outright rejection anticipates that the debate is just beginning and that the project could face strong resistance from Europe.
The statement raised the tension even more by stating that football cannot become a commercial asset. “The soul and governance of football are not goods to be negotiated, especially with zero transparency regarding who profits financially. None of us owns football. It is not something FIFA has the right to sell,” added UEFA.
“This crosses a line that football governing institutions should never cross. UEFA takes it extremely seriously. And so should every national association, leagues, clubs, players, fans, and governments,” the body said.
Reactions were quick to arrive. UEFA has positioned itself as the main opponent to the project promoted by Gianni Infantino, FIFA president. This was the statement they published on social media.
UEFA statement on The Times article: ?? pic.twitter.com/ye1tjfWRCb
— UEFA (@UEFA) July 28, 2026
In response to the impact of the information, FIFA denied that a decision has been made. “This has never been discussed. However, the FIFA president and the administration will have and must have leadership roles in this entity, if approved, to always maintain control of any FIFA subsidiary,” the organization said in statements collected by The Times.
One of the names linked to the negotiations is Thrive Capital, a firm led by Joshua Kushner, younger brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump. Various sources cited by The Times also indicated that Gianni Infantino could assume an executive position within the new company once his term as president of the organization ends in 2031.
FIFA would retain the majority shareholding, while between 20% and 30% would be sold to private investors for approximately 1 billion dollars. Another 20% would be distributed among the 211 affiliated associations, granting each a stake valued at about 20 million dollars.
The plan includes the creation of a new company called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), responsible for the operation of these tournaments. According to information published by the British media, the company would have a valuation close to 20 billion dollars.
According to The Times, the organization chaired by Gianni Infantino is considering selling minority stakes in its most valuable competitions, including the men’s and women’s World Cup and the Club World Cup, as part of a new management model that would seek to attract private investment without losing control of its tournaments.
Welcome, friends of El Comercio, to the minute-by-minute of what has been happening with FIFA, following Gianni Infantino’s project to sell part of the World Cup and other competitions to the private sector.
