World Cup sellout: Is FIFA dangling carrot members can’t refuse?

The jigsaw is now falling into place as the world finds out what made Gianni Infantino’s FIFA bend backwards to please US President Donald Trump in the build-up to, and during the conduct of, the 2026 World Cup.

If one thought that Infantino’s roll of the dice may stop with a 48 and then 64-team World Cup in future, the football fraternity was in for a shock after FIFA’s admission that it plans to sell a ‘large minority stake’ in a new company that will run its main events: including the marquee World Cup and Club World Cup.

The carrot being dangled before the 211 member associations of FIFA is that they would be in line to receive triple the amount of development money from what it receives now which, in other words, is an offer they can’t refuse. They have until 19 September to endorse the move and it’s been nothing short of a hatchet job, executed by keeping all the major stakeholders in the dark with a big hand from the US.

The uproar has been the strongest in UEFA, the European governing body, as it mulls a boycott of the next World Cup if a new company is eventually floated to take control of the major events.  The 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.

A press release by FIFA, rushed after the story was broken in international media that JP Morgan — the US headquartered global financial services firm — has been FIFA’s chief advisor on this project for the last few months. Even more significant is the fact that Thrive Eternal, a long term investment firm set up by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, is “expected to lead the proposed investor group for FFE”. There is, however, no clue about the profile of potential investors in the new entity.

What does the new plan, which according to UEFA, ‘’crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross,’’ entail? 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.

This, of course, will be 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.

There is no doubt that Infantino and his cohorts at FIFA have been emboldened by the commercial success of the 48-team showpiece in the US — which had been nonchalant about allegations of visa controversy, allegations of biased refereeing, prohibitive ticket prices in the name of ‘dynamic pricing’ and last but not least, overturning of a red card ban on US player Balogun on Trump’s orders.

In a letter to the member associations, 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.

This, however, is not the first time the Swiss-Italian administrator has tried to commercialise FIFA assets by bringing in external investment, having previously failed in his bid to use $25 billion from the Saudi-backed Japan-based SoftBank to create an expanded Club World Cup and Global Nations League. The European Super League, mooted in 2021 to scuttle the appeal of the existing UFEA Champions League, was also believed to have a buy-in from FIFA.

'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 said in a strongly worded statement. The question is: can the European lobby hold on against such a concerted effort, and with US backing this time?

Only time can tell.