Bahrain Telegraph - FIFA's plans to sell $4.2bn stake in its tournaments widely criticised

World football's governing body said Tuesday it would retain a majority share in FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) but hoped to raise $4.2 billion later this year by "carefully selecting long-term investors who will purchase minority, non-controlling interests".

FIFA's statement was a rapid response to a story in British newspapers The Times and The Financial Times based on leaks of the plan from two sources.

The Times reported that FIFA president Gianni Infantino, 56, stood to profit from the scheme by becoming commissioner of the FFE after his expected next term expires in 2031. FIFA denied that this had been discussed.

The article also said discussion had started with financial advisors and potential investors.

Those include Thrive capital, an investment company founded and led by Joshua Kushner, brother of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared, as well as an arm of JP Morgan Chase, the US bank that attempted to finance the failed breakaway European Super League.

European football's governing body UEFA, which has been critical of Infantino, responded to the reports before FIFA had even made an announcement.

"This crosses a line that football's governing institutions should never cross. UEFA takes it extremely seriously," said UEFA's statement.

"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."

The European Union made no bones about their disdain for the plan.

"Hands off our game," Glenn Micallef, the EU commissioner for Sport, posted on X.

CONCACAF, which governs North and Central American football, said it was "deeply concerned by the lack of due process".

"We share the disappointment of many within our region and the game that this level of detail has been designed and shared publicly before any discussion with the relevant governance bodies and stakeholders has taken place," CONCACAF added.

The plan would still have to be approved by the 38-member FIFA council and the majority of its 211 member associations (MAs). FIFA said it intends to present the plans to the council soon.

FIFA said in its statement that it "would retain sole control of FFE and exclusive authority over football governance, competitions, match calendar, and all regulatory and sporting decisions".

It said it believed FFE would achieve an "initial equity valuation of $20bn".

FIFA said each of its MAs would be given the chance to take a one-off stake of 20mn dollars in FFE.

That represents only 0.1 percent of the total, but would be a significant sum for the leaderships of FIFA's poorer or smaller members.

"Together with other existing FIFA programmes, these investments could bring FIFA's total planned development funding to more than $10 billion over the next four years," FIFA said.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, an Everton fan, decried the plan.

"Football does not belong to investors. It belongs to the people who fill the stands and who stand on the touchline week in, week out, rain or shine," he wrote on social media.

"The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone's to sell."

- 'Expanding to 64 teams' -

In June, ahead of the World Cup, FIFA, which folds competition income into revenue for the whole year, anticipated record revenues exceeding seven billion euros ($8bn) for 2026.

It was the first World Cup with 48 teams. At the start, Infantino said "we have had discussions about expanding to 64 teams" for 2030.

The Times quoted an unnamed "senior football figure" calling the plan "potentially much worse than the European Super League", as it would have an impact on all levels of football across the globe.

In 2019, a FIFA stakeholders' committee rejected an Infantino-backed plan for a $25bn private investment in an expanded Club World Cup. Reported backers included SoftBank of Japan and Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

FIFA did expand that competition from seven teams to 32 clubs in 2025.

The Times speculated that the creation of FFE could have an impact on the World Cup and the Club World Cup.

"It could lead to pressure for both events to be further expanded or played more regularly than the present once every four years," it wrote.

FIFA has previously found itself in trouble with deals spinning off commercial activities to private partners.

Estimates for its losses when ISL, which negotiated World Cup rights deals, went bust in 2001 were anywhere between $30mn and $115mn.

C.al-Farsi--BT