The final whistle on the field has blown, but FIFA’s biggest World Cup move is unfolding in a Manhattan boardroom: a plan to spin its commercial machine into a $20 billion company and sell minority stakes to private investors. The proposal could raise up to $4.2 billion, with Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Eternal expected to lead the investor group, even as UEFA accuses FIFA of crossing a line.
Officially, FIFA insists it is not "selling the World Cup." According to FIFA, the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise would bundle broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing, licensing and tournament operations for men’s, women’s and youth football into a single commercial subsidiary. Outside investors would buy minority, non-controlling stakes in that new company, not in FIFA itself.
The sales pitch leans heavily on development funding. FIFA says it wants to boost its regular support for each of its 211 member associations from $8 million to $20 million for the 2027-30 cycle, then to $22 million and $24 million in later cycles, while dangling up to $20 million in optional one-time capital for special projects.
FIFA Wants More Money Without Giving Up Control
The proposal was buttoned up Tuesday after President Gianni Infantino walked members through the outline at a meeting in Manhattan ahead of the final, the Associated Press reported. J.P. Morgan is advising FIFA, while Thrive Eternal, a permanent-capital vehicle founded by Joshua Kushner, is expected to lead the investor group. Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, giving the plan a distinctly American political connection even as FIFA frames it as a global football-finance play.
UEFA, representing 55 of FIFA’s member associations, wasted no time firing back. The European governing body said the proposal “crosses a line” and warned that “the soul and governance of football are not assets to trade,” according to the Associated Press.
Why The New York Backdrop Matters
The cash grab is arriving on the heels of an exceptionally lucrative World Cup cycle. A report from NPR published by St. Louis Public Radio said FIFA is already on track to pull in at least $13 billion from the previous four-year period, a number that gives the governing body a strong case for turning that commercial success into a long-term financing engine.
At the same time, FIFA’s revenue tactics have been under sharp scrutiny in the New York-New Jersey region that hosted the final. The New York Attorney General’s Office said state officials subpoenaed FIFA over claims that fans were misled about seat locations and slammed with soaring prices. According to officials, ticket prices for more than 90 of the tournament’s 104 matches climbed between October and April, with the three main categories rising by an average of 34%.
That ticket fight has made FIFA’s “we reinvest everything into global football” mantra very familiar to fans. In defending those prices, Infantino has argued that steep World Cup tickets are necessary to fund football development worldwide, as he did when he defended steep World Cup ticket prices, a justification now being repurposed to sell an even more ambitious financial restructuring.
Approvals Are Still Ahead
FIFA says the new company cannot move forward without backing from a majority of its 211 member associations and sign-off from the FIFA Council. The governing body also insists it would retain exclusive control over football governance, competitions, the international match calendar and all sporting decisions, while investors would have no operational role.
If the plan is approved, it would not hand the World Cup trophy or FIFA’s rulebook to Wall Street. It would, however, create a fresh ownership layer around the broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing and event operations that make the tournament so valuable, precisely the distinction UEFA and other critics are almost certain to keep attacking.
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