FIFA Proposes $20 Billion-Valued Commercial Arm, Plans Up to $4.2 Billion Minority Fundraising; UEFA Objects

FIFA has begun consulting its 211 member associations on a plan to create a new commercial subsidiary with an implied equity valuation of $20 billion, then seek to raise up to $4.2 billion later this year by selling minority, non-controlling stakes in that entity — a proposal that drew immediate criticism from European soccer body UEFA.

The new vehicle, announced Monday and called FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE, would combine FIFA’s main commercial rights, including broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing, along with the operational delivery of FIFA tournaments. FIFA said it would keep control of the business. In its announcement, the Swiss-based governing body said it would retain “sole control of FFE via majority board representation and exclusive authority over football governance, competitions, the international match calendar and all regulatory and sporting decisions.”

That distinction matters because FIFA is not proposing to “sell the World Cup” in a literal sense, nor is it saying it plans to raise $20 billion. The $20 billion figure is the new entity’s initial implied valuation. The planned fundraising is much smaller: up to $4.2 billion from outside investors buying minority stakes.

FIFA said the proceeds would support a major expansion of development funding. Under the proposal, each member association could receive an optional one-off $20 million payment through a proposed FIFA Fast Forward Programme.

It also said regular development funding per cycle would rise sharply, from the currently budgeted $8 million for 2027-30 to $20 million for 2027-30, then $22 million for 2031-34 and $24 million for 2035-38. FIFA said the plan, together with other programs, could bring its total planned development funding to more than $10 billion over the next four years. FIFA President Gianni Infantino described the project as “the democratisation of football worldwide.”

UEFA quickly attacked the proposal. According to The Associated Press, the European governing body said: “It is not FIFA’s to sell.” UEFA also said, “The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially.”

The pushback reflects a familiar fault line in soccer politics: how far FIFA can commercialize its global competitions while claiming to preserve control of the sport’s governance. FIFA argues that creating a separate subsidiary would unlock more money for national federations while leaving sporting authority untouched inside the parent body, a Swiss not-for-profit association made up of 211 national federations.

FIFA’s announcement also offered clues to why it believes the plan is viable. AP reported that FIFA’s income from the 2026 men’s World Cup was a record roughly $12 billion, underscoring the value of the commercial rights that would sit inside FFE.

FIFA said it has hired J.P. Morgan as an adviser. It said Thrive Eternal, a permanent-capital holding company linked to Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, is expected to lead the investor group. FIFA also named Greg Maffei, the former Liberty Media executive now serving as CEO of BANN Ventures, as a key commercial adviser on the project.

This is not Infantino’s first attempt at a large private-capital transaction. AP reported that in 2018 he pushed a reported $25 billion plan involving SoftBank, but that effort collapsed after strong opposition, particularly from UEFA.

For now, FIFA has opened consultations rather than finalized a deal. It said the launch of FFE would require support from a majority of its 211 member associations, as well as approval from the FIFA Council, the organization’s top strategic and oversight body. FIFA also said participation by individual federations in the new funding program would be voluntary.

AP noted that FIFA has an online congress scheduled for Nov. 23, which could become an important waypoint in the approval process. FIFA’s own statement said only that consultations are now underway.