FIFA Wants to Sell Up to 20% of a New $20 Billion Commercial Arm. UEFA Calls It a Line That Shouldn't Be Crossed

FIFA confirmed Tuesday it's building a new commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE, that would consolidate the organization's commercial and event operations under one roof valued at roughly $20 billion, according to Reuters. The plan: sell outside investors a minority, non-controlling stake to raise as much as $4.2 billion, with FIFA insisting every dollar of net benefit flows back into the sport.

FIFA says it isn't giving up an inch of actual control. The governing body would retain "sole control" and "exclusive authority" over football governance, competitions, the match calendar, and every regulatory and sporting decision, according to Reuters and The Straits Times, which both carried FIFA's own statement on the matter.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino framed this as populist, not corporate. "This is about the democratisation of football worldwide," he said, arguing every one of FIFA's 211 member associations should get a shot at a fair share of the funding to shape its own future. "Football is the world's most popular sport and an extraordinary engine of human and social development," Infantino said in a statement reported by Reuters. "Our job is to make sure the rest of football grows with it."

Smaller federations, many of which operate on shoestring budgets, would theoretically get access to a slice of $4.2 billion in fresh capital they'd never see otherwise. If FIFA actually reinvests the proceeds the way it claims, that's real money for youth programs, infrastructure, and federations that can't currently compete with Europe's financial gravity.

UEFA Isn't Buying It

European soccer's governing body wasted no time torching the plan. "This crosses a line that football's governing institutions should never cross," UEFA said in a statement carried by both Reuters and The Straits Times. "The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA's to sell."

UEFA didn't stop at disagreement. It called on every national federation, league, club, player, supporter, and government that "cares about the future of the game" to take the proposal seriously and push back. That's a direct shot at Infantino, and it's coming from the single most powerful confederation in world soccer, the one that runs the Champions League and controls the sport's richest domestic leagues.

UEFA's core complaint is legitimate on its face: FIFA hasn't disclosed who exactly would own the up-to-20% stake being shopped around, what governance rights come attached to that money even if it's technically "non-controlling," or how the reinvestment promise would be enforced or audited. A concern about opacity in a $20 billion valuation of an organization that already faces persistent questions about transparency is not unreasonable, and UEFA is right to demand answers before member associations vote on anything.

Who's Actually Putting Up the Money

FIFA is working with JPMorgan bankers to structure the raise, according to a source cited by Reuters. Former Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei has been brought on as a commercial adviser on building out the enterprise, the same source said.

The expected lead investor is Thrive Eternal, a permanent capital vehicle launched this year by venture capital firm Thrive Capital, according to Reuters and Global Banking & Finance Review. Thrive Eternal is built specifically to make long-term bets on franchises and cultural institutions, and it already holds a minority stake in Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants.

Thrive Eternal was founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, who is President Trump's son-in-law. Former Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger serves as an adviser to the vehicle, according to Global Banking & Finance Review. Reuters noted the Financial Times first reported the stake sale.

Sovereign wealth funds, private equity, and politically connected capital already run through professional sports at every level, from the Premier League to the PGA Tour's dealings with Saudi Arabia's LIV Golf. The Kushner family connection to a deal this size, tied to the world's single most powerful sports governing body, deserves scrutiny independent of whatever verdict gets reached on FIFA's broader restructuring plan.

What Happens Next

FIFA says the proposal will be formally presented to its 211 member associations and the FIFA Council, which holds final sign-off authority, according to a FIFA spokesperson cited by Reuters. No vote date has been announced. FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Global Banking & Finance Review at the time of that outlet's report.

The open questions UEFA is demanding answers to remain exactly that: open. Who specifically would hold the 20% stake once sold. What voting or influence rights, if any, attach to a supposedly "non-controlling" position of that size. And whether FIFA's promise to reinvest "all net benefits" back into the game comes with any independent audit mechanism, or whether member federations are simply being asked to take Infantino's word for it.