FIFA has announced plans to sell a large minority stake in a new company that will run its main events, including the World Cup and Club World Cup, as part of a plan to triple the amount of development money it dishes out to its 211 member associations.
Under the proposals - which are subject to approval by a majority of those national associations and FIFA's 37-member council - a new entity called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE) will take over all commercial operations, while FIFA remains the game's global governing body and retains a majority stake in FFE.
With elements of this plan starting to be reported by several media outlets earlier on Tuesday, FIFA was forced to rush out a press release that confirmed it was hoping to sell up to 21 per cent of FFE to private investors, with the intention of bringing in $4.2billion (£3.2bn) that could be immediately released to its member associations as part of a new funding stream called FIFA Fast-Forward Programme (FFFP).
The press release also confirmed that global bank JP Morgan has been FIFA's chief advisor on this project, with Thrive Eternal, a long-term investment vehicle set up by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, "expected to lead the proposed investor group for FFE."
Under the plan, FIFA's total development funding would top $10bn over the next four years, with each member association allowed to draw an "optional" $20m each for "exceptional and immediate funding for special projects" from the new FFFP stream, which will be funded by the sale of the minority stake.
However, that is only the beginning of the proposed bonanza, as each member association would also get regular Forward Programme grants of $20m each, up from $8m, in the next four-year cycle. That will rise to $22m per nation for 2031-34 and $24m - three times the current amount - for 2035-38.
Who is behind the plan?
Unsurprisingly, the idea is the brainchild of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has been working on it for months.
In FIFA's press release, Infantino described football as "an extraordinary engine of human and social development" and said it was the governing body's "responsibility" to make sure football's "remarkable commercial value" is shared more evenly around the global game.
"Our next stage of growth needs a structure built for it, one where the commercial side of the game operates as a focused, dedicated business, with its value shared more and better all around the world," said Infantino.
"Every FIFA member association should have an opportunity to seek a fair share of the available funding to shape its own future, deciding for itself rather than relying on others. This is about the democratisation of football worldwide."
What has the reaction been?
Given that during and before this summer's World Cup, the involvement of someone with a family connection to President Trump, such as Joshua Kushner, will raise eyebrows throughout the global game. European football's governing body UEFA has already expressed its opposition to the idea of selling the sport's most valuable assets to private investors and sovereign wealth funds.
"This crosses a line that football's governing institutions should never cross," UEFA said in a statement released shortly before FIFA confirmed the plan.
"UEFA takes it extremely seriously. So should every national football association. So should every stakeholder: leagues, clubs, players, supporters, governments and everyone who cares about the future of the game.
"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."
Under the proposals - which are subject to approval by a majority of those national associations and FIFA's 37-member council - a new entity called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE) will take over all commercial operations, while FIFA remains the game's global governing body and retains a majority stake in FFE.
With elements of this plan starting to be reported by several media outlets earlier on Tuesday, FIFA was forced to rush out a press release that confirmed it was hoping to sell up to 21 per cent of FFE to private investors, with the intention of bringing in $4.2billion (£3.2bn) that could be immediately released to its member associations as part of a new funding stream called FIFA Fast-Forward Programme (FFFP).
The press release also confirmed that global bank JP Morgan has been FIFA's chief advisor on this project, with Thrive Eternal, a long-term investment vehicle set up by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, "expected to lead the proposed investor group for FFE."
Under the plan, FIFA's total development funding would top $10bn over the next four years, with each member association allowed to draw an "optional" $20m each for "exceptional and immediate funding for special projects" from the new FFFP stream, which will be funded by the sale of the minority stake.
However, that is only the beginning of the proposed bonanza, as each member association would also get regular Forward Programme grants of $20m each, up from $8m, in the next four-year cycle. That will rise to $22m per nation for 2031-34 and $24m - three times the current amount - for 2035-38.
Who is behind the plan?
Unsurprisingly, the idea is the brainchild of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has been working on it for months.
In FIFA's press release, Infantino described football as "an extraordinary engine of human and social development" and said it was the governing body's "responsibility" to make sure football's "remarkable commercial value" is shared more evenly around the global game.
"Our next stage of growth needs a structure built for it, one where the commercial side of the game operates as a focused, dedicated business, with its value shared more and better all around the world," said Infantino.
"Every FIFA member association should have an opportunity to seek a fair share of the available funding to shape its own future, deciding for itself rather than relying on others. This is about the democratisation of football worldwide."
What has the reaction been?
Given that during and before this summer's World Cup, the involvement of someone with a family connection to President Trump, such as Joshua Kushner, will raise eyebrows throughout the global game. European football's governing body UEFA has already expressed its opposition to the idea of selling the sport's most valuable assets to private investors and sovereign wealth funds.
"This crosses a line that football's governing institutions should never cross," UEFA said in a statement released shortly before FIFA confirmed the plan.
"UEFA takes it extremely seriously. So should every national football association. So should every stakeholder: leagues, clubs, players, supporters, governments and everyone who cares about the future of the game.
"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."
