The private-capital plan is framed by FIFA as development funding. UEFA sees a boundary test over who gets to profit from the World Cup’s commercial machinery.
FIFA’s proposed World Cup investment deal is not just a fight between FIFA and UEFA. It is now a test for the 211 member associations that would be asked to consider a new $20 billion company, outside investors and a possible $4.2 billion capital raise tied to the commercial side of FIFA events.
The proposal, disclosed Tuesday, July 28, 2026, would create FIFA Forward Enterprise, a subsidiary for World Cup and other FIFA event operations. FIFA says any private stake would be minority and non-controlling. UEFA says the idea crosses a line for the sport.
The decision path comes first
The plan is not final. A FIFA spokesperson said it will be presented to FIFA’s 211 member associations and the FIFA Council, which would be the sole final decision-makers.
That process matters because the proposal pairs a large commercial deal with FIFA’s promise of development funding. Associations that depend on FIFA distributions may weigh UEFA’s objections against the possibility of new money for facilities, teams and competitions.
The fight is therefore broader than whether private investors can buy into a new entity. It is about whether the people who govern world football accept FIFA’s argument that commercial expansion can be separated from sporting control.
What FIFA says would be sold
According to Reuters, the new company would be called FIFA Forward Enterprise and would oversee commercial and event operations for the World Cup and other FIFA events.
FIFA says the subsidiary would be valued at $20 billion. Private investors could buy up to 20%, potentially raising as much as $4.2 billion. FIFA has described the stake as minority and non-controlling.
FIFA has also said it would retain sole control of the subsidiary and keep exclusive authority over football governance, competitions, the match calendar and regulatory and sporting decisions.
That is the distinction FIFA is relying on: investors could participate in the event business, while FIFA says control over the sport would stay inside football’s governing structure.
The development case
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has presented the plan as a way to link football’s most valuable commercial opportunities with development needs across the wider game. FIFA has also said net benefits from the plan would be reinvested in football.
FIFA says the capital raise would support an optional program allowing member associations to access up to $20 million in one-off capital. The money could be used for infrastructure, coaching, national teams, competitions, grassroots football and the women’s game.
FIFA said that figure would rise to $24 million by the 2035-2038 cycle. For federations with limited resources, that promise could be central to how the plan is received.
The commercial logic is clear enough. The World Cup already carries massive value through sponsorship, broadcast rights and hospitality. FIFA’s position is that a new structure could unlock more of that value without giving away sporting authority.
Why UEFA objects
UEFA’s objection is that the World Cup should not be treated like an ordinary investment asset. Europe’s governing body has argued that football is not FIFA’s to sell and warned that the sport’s soul and governance should not be put on the market.
The dispute also lands in an already tense relationship. Reuters noted that UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin did not attend the recent World Cup final after disagreements involving disciplinary procedures, refereeing logistics and match operations.
FIFA and UEFA occupy different pressure points in the same sport. FIFA distributes money across 211 member associations. UEFA represents Europe’s powerful national associations, clubs and leagues, which sit at the center of much of football’s commercial strength.
That makes the proposed subsidiary a governance argument as much as a financial one. Even if investors do not formally control sporting decisions, critics can still question whether revenue expectations would influence scheduling, packaging, expansion or other commercial choices around FIFA events.
The investor side of the plan
FIFA said Joshua Kushner-founded Thrive Eternal is expected to lead the proposed investor group. Reuters also reported that FIFA is working with JPMorgan bankers and that former Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei has been involved as a commercial adviser.
Thrive Eternal has been described as a permanent capital vehicle focused on a small number of long-term investments in franchises and cultural institutions. That description frames the proposed investment as long-term capital rather than a short-term trade.
Still, the optics are difficult for critics. FIFA is a not-for-profit governing body making a development-funding case. Private investors generally enter deals expecting returns. The unresolved issue is how those interests would be balanced over time.
What remains unanswered
Important details have not yet been publicly shown, including the full investor terms, governance protections, expected financial returns and long-term limits on private shareholder influence.
Criticism is not limited to UEFA. Reuters quoted Richard Sheehan, a University of Notre Dame finance professor who studies sports economics, calling the plan a money grab by current FIFA leadership.
According to Reuters, Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham also criticized the idea on social media, saying the World Cup is not a product and was never anyone’s to sell.
If the plan is approved, FIFA would gain billions in new capital while maintaining that sporting control has not moved. If it is rejected or changed, the response would show how strongly football’s own institutions still treat the World Cup as different from other commercial properties.
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