FIFA Council members were kept out of the loop on a proposal to bring more than $250 million in private investment into a new FIFA youth tournament, learning of the talks only after journalists exposed them, according to reporting published Thursday. The revelation adds a new layer of scrutiny to FIFA President Gianni Infantino's push to open football's finances to outside capital, just weeks after a separate, larger privatization plan collapsed under threat of a UEFA-led boycott.
Council Left Out of Investor Talks
According to The Athletic, whose report was authored by Adam Crafton, Infantino did not inform the FIFA Council that he was soliciting outside investment for a proposed Under-15 World Cup before council members learned about the commercialization talks after the outlet's story broke. The Council is FIFA's main decision-making body, made up of eight vice-presidents and 28 members elected by member associations, and several of them reportedly questioned whether spinning off a children's competition to outside investors could jeopardize FIFA's nonprofit status. Infantino requested and reviewed a proposal prepared by businessmen including Juan Carlos Rodríguez, a former commissioner of the Mexico Football Federation, per the same report.
The financial commitments behind the plan topped $250 million, with investor backing led by Eldridge Industries, the firm founded and chaired by billionaire Todd Boehly, who is also chairman of Chelsea FC and co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Eldridge backed Rodríguez's proposal directly, and organizers hoped to secure returns for investors through local broadcast deals and sponsorships rather than a straightforward franchise sale. The proposal reportedly discussed FIFA brand and licensing terms ranging from 20 to 30 years, according to the two figures cited in the reporting.
Orlando, Disney and ESPN Were in the Mix
Organizers behind the private pitch held conversations with ESPN, which was reportedly on board to broadcast the tournament in the United States. The plan envisioned staging matches at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida, with opening and closing ceremonies planned at Disney World resorts, modeling the event loosely on baseball's Little League World Series. Separately, Dan O'Toole worked closely on the Under-15 project plan and also took part in discussions with J.P. Morgan about selling stakes in FIFA's broader event and commercial operations, while a firm called Thrive Eternal sought to acquire a 21 percent stake in FIFA's commercial and event operations.
FIFA has pushed back on the characterization that anything improper occurred. The organization said all internal discussions about the project complied with its statutes and governance regulations, and it said no employee concerns were raised about commercializing the children's tournament or its possible impact on FIFA's Swiss tax status. A FIFA spokesperson said the Council was informed in December 2025 that FIFA administration was developing a proposal to cover the tournament's substantial costs, and the organization noted financial support was important for sustainability given the venture's significant outlay. FIFA also said its administration routinely holds internal discussions and that the Council is invited to approve concrete proposals once they take shape under applicable rules, and it did not state that Infantino had mentioned external investment or external returns to the Council.
From Disney to Baku
FIFA ultimately walked away from the private financing model. The organization informed Eldridge Industries and Rodríguez that it would not proceed with the proposal, and the FIFA Bureau of the Council instead decided the Under-15 event should take place in Azerbaijan. FIFA said Baku was selected after an assessment of its infrastructure and capacity to host thousands of children and support staff, a process FIFA confirmed formally on June 24. The tournament is scheduled to run October 22 through October 31, and the Under-15 Festival proposal that shaped the format included all 211 FIFA nations with no qualification required.
FIFA confirmed the first edition will be for boys only, with a girls' edition planned for 2027; boys' and girls' Under-15 events will be played separately at different times of the year. The tournament will use shorter matches and smaller pitches than senior football, and per details of the competition format, it will be played 8-a-side. FIFA announced the new global Under-15 tournament after its December 2025 council meeting, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has since signed a decree directing the organizing committee already formed for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup to coordinate logistics for the October event, according to Anadolu Ajansı.
A Pattern of Backroom Pitches
The Under-15 episode is not the only case this year in which Infantino's appetite for outside capital has run into internal resistance. On August 1, Infantino was forced to abandon a far larger plan, dubbed the FIFA Forward Enterprise, that would have sold a 20 percent stake in FIFA's commercial rights for $4.2 billion after UEFA threatened a full World Cup boycott, a controversy Hoodline covered in its report on FIFA's $20 billion World Cup plan. FIFA is registered as a nonprofit association under Articles 60 to 79 of the Swiss Civil Code, a status that exempts its World Cup earnings from Swiss corporate tax as long as commercial operations remain secondary to its core sports mandate, a legal backdrop that helps explain why FIFA Council members flagged the Under-15 investment talk as a risk in the first place.
Infantino's other ambitions for the Under-15 tournament also ran into political reality earlier this year. He had proposed an opening match between Israel and Palestine, but that idea stalled after Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub refused to shake hands with an Israeli official on stage at the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver in April, as reported by the Associated Press. Whether Infantino faces further political fallout or a credible challenger ahead of the upcoming FIFA presidential elections remains an open question that the current reporting does not resolve.
