FIFA has announced plans to open part of the commercial side of its operations to private investors through a new subsidiary that will manage the business activities of the FIFA World Cup and other competitions.
The global football governing body said it will retain majority ownership of the new entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), while seeking to raise $4.2 billion later this year by selling minority, non-controlling stakes to selected long-term investors.
According to FIFA, the initiative is aimed at strengthening its commercial operations and generating additional funding for football development, while ensuring the organisation retains full control over all sporting and regulatory matters.
The announcement follows reports by The Times and the Financial Times, which cited sources familiar with the proposal.
One of the reports claimed FIFA President Gianni Infantino could become commissioner of FFE after his expected final term as FIFA president ends in 2031. FIFA, however, dismissed the claim, insisting that no such arrangement has been discussed.
The reports also said FIFA has held discussions with financial advisers and potential investors, including Thrive Capital, founded by Joshua Kushner, and an investment arm of JP Morgan Chase.
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter criticised the proposed investment plan, pointing to Infantino’s close relationship with United States President Donald Trump.
“The close relationship between the FIFA President and the US President has reached a financial dimension that is deeply damaging football. No one has the right to sell our game,” Blatter wrote on social media.
European football’s governing body, UEFA, also opposed the proposal, warning that football’s governance should not become a commercial asset.
“This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross. UEFA takes it extremely seriously.
“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.
FIFA said the proposal will require approval from its 38-member Council as well as a majority of its 211 member associations before it can take effect.
The organisation added that it plans to present the proposal to the Council soon and reiterated that it would retain sole control of FFE, along with exclusive authority over football governance, competitions, the international match calendar and all regulatory and sporting decisions.
FIFA estimated that FFE could have an initial equity valuation of $20 billion.
Under the proposal, each of FIFA’s 211 member associations would also be offered the opportunity to purchase a one-off $20 million stake in the subsidiary.
The governing body said the investment programme, together with its existing football development initiatives, could increase its planned development funding to more than $10 billion over the next four years.
The proposal has also attracted criticism from British politician Andy Burnham, who argued that football should never be treated as a commercial product.
“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. The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone’s to sell.
“Dress the deal up however you like. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out. Football belongs to the fans. It always has, and it always will,” he wrote on X.
The development comes after FIFA projected record revenues of more than €7 billion ($8 billion) in 2026 following the expansion of the FIFA World Cup from 32 to 48 teams.
Infantino has also previously disclosed that FIFA discussed expanding the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams, a proposal that has generated debate within the football community.
Critics argue that increased private investment could create pressure to further expand FIFA competitions or stage them more frequently to maximise commercial returns.
In 2019, a FIFA stakeholders’ committee rejected a proposed $25 billion private investment deal backed by Infantino for an expanded FIFA Club World Cup. The reported investors included Japan’s SoftBank and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
FIFA later expanded the Club World Cup from seven to 32 teams in 2025.
The organisation has also experienced commercial setbacks in the past, including financial losses linked to the collapse of ISL, the company that managed World Cup broadcasting rights before going bankrupt in 2001. Estimates of FIFA’s losses from the collapse ranged between $30 million and $115 million.
