Concern over FIFA's World Cup investment plan

Less than two weeks after Spain's 2026 World Cup victory, the future of global soccer has been thrown into chaos. That's because the European soccer governing body has now voted to boycott men's and women's FIFA events, meaning some of the leading powerhouses like France, Germany, England, and Spain would not play in competitions, including the Women's World Cup next summer. It all stems from FIFA President Gianni Infantino's new pitch. There is a real commercial value in our game that we have not yet capturing, and unlocking it needs a focused, dedicated business.

His proposal creates a subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise to run commercial operations, everything from broadcast rights to ticket sales.

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Infantino says it would raise $20 billion for FIFA, but 20% of it would be owned by private investors. The main investing firm would be one headed by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The result, Infantino says, would boost development funding for each of FIFA's 211 member countries and territories. Both the UEFA and North America's soccer body, CONCACAF, rejected the proposal. Global football is saying no. Why? Why are we letting any of these guys in? We don't appear to need the money.

Matt Slater covers soccer as a senior writer for The Athletic and pointed to record-breaking World Cup profit plus an estimated $4 billion in FIFA reserves as further reason why many questioned the deal. I fail to see how there's anyone that works for a private equity firm that knows more about running a soccer tournament than anyone at FIFA. What disruption is going on here? And this is where the fear is. The disruption is on the rest of the game. Now, overnight, a senior FIFA official, Carlos Cordeiro, said he quit in protest over this proposal, calling it a bad deal for football. Now, FIFA has acknowledged the backlash it's gotten over this, saying, quote, "Nobody is selling football." This proposal will go forward for a formal vote before FIFA's 211 members in September. Michael. All right, Nicole Valdes, thank you.