Ololade Adeyanju/
FIFA has dramatically abandoned plans to sell a minority stake in a new commercial entity valued at approximately $20 billion, with President Gianni Infantino conceding that the proposal had become too divisive to continue despite its stated objective of generating billions of dollars for football development worldwide.
The reversal marks a significant setback for one of the most ambitious commercial initiatives in FIFA’s history and follows days of mounting criticism from football authorities, European governments and governance experts over plans to bring private investors into the commercial ownership of the sport’s biggest competitions.
The abandoned proposal, known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), would have housed the commercial rights to the FIFA World Cup, FIFA Women’s World Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and other flagship tournaments.
FIFA had planned to retain overall control while selling up to a 20 per cent non-controlling stake, potentially raising about $4.2 billion from investors and valuing the business at around $20 billion.
The plan came under intense scrutiny after the Financial Times reported that FIFA had been in advanced discussions with Thrive Eternal, a permanent capital investment vehicle founded by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of United States President Donald Trump.
Although sources familiar with the negotiations said Jared Kushner was not directly involved, the reported Trump family connection fuelled political and sporting opposition to the deal and intensified questions over governance and transparency.
Announcing the decision to withdraw the proposal, Infantino acknowledged that consultations with football stakeholders had revealed divisions that outweighed the anticipated benefits.
“The FIFA Forward Enterprise project was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening our FIFA Member Associations and our sport worldwide, especially in those countries where support is most needed,” Infantino said.
He stressed that FIFA had always intended to proceed only with broad institutional backing.
“As we said from the outset, to do this only if a majority of the FIFA Member Associations were in support and always subject to a consultation process with them, the FIFA Council, the Confederations and wider stakeholders.”
The FIFA president admitted that the consultation process had fundamentally altered the governing body’s position.
“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place.”
In one of his clearest acknowledgements of the scale of the controversy, Infantino said preserving unity within world football had become more important than pursuing the investment.
“Our purpose has always been – and will always be – to unite and improve.”
“As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”
He added that FIFA would now seek to repair relationships with stakeholders across the sport.
“Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support.”
The withdrawal represents a remarkable reversal for FIFA after initially defending the proposal as a transformative financial model that could unlock billions of dollars in additional funding for its 211 member associations.
Under the original plan, member associations would also have been offered the opportunity to acquire small equity interests in the new commercial vehicle, while FIFA projected that expanded revenues could significantly increase development funding over future funding cycles.
Instead, the initiative quickly evolved into one of the most contentious governance disputes in modern football.
UEFA led the opposition, warning that football’s commercial future should not be transferred, even partially, to private investors without extensive consultation.
Europe’s governing body argued that football “is not FIFA’s to sell” and questioned both the transparency of the process and the long-term implications for the governance of the global game.
Political opposition also intensified beyond football. According to the Financial Times, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham criticised the proposal, arguing that football belongs to supporters rather than investors and cautioning against the commercialisation of the world’s most popular sport.
European Union Sports Commissioner Glenn Micallef similarly warned that the European Commission would closely examine any proposal that could affect governance standards, competition rules or create conflicts of interest within international football.
Reuters also reported that several leading European football associations, including those of England, Germany, France and Denmark, questioned both the substance of the proposal and the limited consultation that preceded its announcement.
The collapse of the initiative also revives memories of FIFA’s unsuccessful attempt in 2018 to secure a $25 billion private investment package to expand the Club World Cup, another proposal that ultimately failed after resistance from football stakeholders.
While the immediate controversy has ended with FIFA’s decision to withdraw the project, the episode is likely to leave lasting questions over the governing body’s commercial strategy, its increasingly close engagement with major private investment groups and the influence of politically connected investors on the future of global football.
For now, Infantino has chosen institutional unity over financial ambition, shelving what could have become the biggest commercial transaction in football history and signalling that any future attempt to reshape FIFA’s commercial model will require far broader consensus than the organisation was able to secure this time.
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