Infantino’s FIFA World Cup stakes plan: Would UEFA boycott, would it work?

Published 29 July 2026 · sports

How the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise has drawn criticism, including from UEFA and new United Kingdom Prime Minister. The dust has barely settled on the

How the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise has drawn criticism, including from UEFA and new United Kingdom Prime Minister. The dust has barely settled on the expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup 2026, yet further development of the competition’s future has already been mooted, as well as struck by a fierce backlash. The shine on the trophy, now held by Spain after their defeat of Argentina in the final, still glitters brightly, but there were tarnishes to this year’s event. Now, the game’s global governing body, FIFA, and its president, Gianni Infantino, face yet more criticism after a plan was released to sell stakes in future World Cups and other events to private investors. From European football’s governing body, UEFA, to the United Kingdom’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, FIFA’s plan has been slammed. There has even been a suggestion of a boycott by UEFA. Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at what the latest proposals on FIFA’s desk mean. What are Gianni Infantino and FIFA’s new World Cup plans? FIFA announced plans on Tuesday to sell stakes in future World Cups and other events to private investors in a bid to maximise revenue for the sport. The proposal is to create a $20bn subsidiary to run the World Cup and other events. FIFA says it would retain the majority share of a newly created FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme, meaning it would still preside over football governance, competitions, match calendars and regulatory and sporting decisions. Minority stakes, however, would be sold to external investors to raise up to $4.2bn as part of the new proposal. Why do Infantino and FIFA want to sell stakes in the World Cup? Debate raged for months in the build-up to World Cup 2026 that FIFA’s ticket pricing was pushing fans out of “the people’s game”, as it has long been regarded. FIFA’s defence was that the World Cup is their main source of income to support the game around the globe – from the sport’s grassroots to the administration of the major international events.

This latest proposal is FIFA’s attempt to stretch that revenue potential even further. How would the new plan for the FIFA World Cup work? Billions of dollars are already raised by FIFA tournaments, largely from broadcasting rights, sponsorship and other commercial deals. This new commercial subsidiary, the FFE, would extend beyond traditional means of raising funds and would be akin to the franchise model that many sports have now turned to. The Indian Premier League (IPL), a T20 cricket tournament, was one of the first competitions to fully exploit the potential of franchise models, selling stakes in teams in a newly formed competition. On Wednesday, the IPL – only formed in 2008 – announced its value had soared more than 11% this year to 20.6bn. Teams in that competition are owned by majority investors, who therefore hold significant sway in how it is run. Other models, including The Hundred of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) – an attempt to rival the IPL – have sold minority ownership of the teams. ECB, as a result, retains control of the competition, and this is what FIFA is proposing for the share of the World Cup and its events that it intends to sell privately. Nonetheless, a share is a share and new investors, be it in cricket’s The Hundred or in the FIFA World Cup, will expect at the very least to be heard when it comes to decision-making. This is where concerns are being raised about the proposals. Who are the potential investors in the World Cup and other FIFA events? Thrive Eternal, a United States venture capital firm, has been put forward to lead the proposed investor group, FIFA said. The vehicle was founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Any potential investors would thereafter buy into the FIFA events via Thrive Eternal. What benefits are FIFA claiming if the World Cup and events plan succeeds?