FIFA: Gianni Infantino's project provokes a backlash from UEFA

FIFA President Gianni Infantino is preparing a major project that could profoundly transform the commercial management of world football. The idea is to create a new company tasked with exploiting the commercial rights to the organization's main competitions, including the Men's and Women's World Cups and the Club World Cup. This initiative has already sparked strong opposition, particularly from UEFA.

According to revelations in the "Financial Times," this future structure would be open to private investors. FIFA would retain control of the company, however, while selling between 20 and 30% of its capital. The company's valuation is estimated at nearly €17.3 billion, which could allow the world governing body to raise approximately €3.5 billion.

In response to questions, FIFA clarified that this project could only come to fruition after approval from the majority of its member federations and agreement from the FIFA Council for the necessary regulatory adaptations.

Investors fueling the controversy

Beyond the financial aspect, the identity of potential investors is already a subject of debate. The Thrive Eternal fund is presented as one of the leading candidates to carry out this operation. Its head, Joshua Kushner, is the brother of Jared Kushner, former advisor to Donald Trump and husband of Ivanka Trump.

This close family ties have fueled criticism, with some observers pointing to the long-standing relationship between Gianni Infantino and the American president. This situation raises questions about the governance and transparency of the project.

UEFA denounces a red line being crossed

Gianni Infantino, however, defends an ambitious vision. According to him, this new structure would increase FIFA's revenues in order to finance more football development programs worldwide, supporting both major competitions and smaller federations.

But these arguments failed to convince UEFA. In a particularly firm statement, the European governing body deemed the commercialization of football governance an unacceptable development. It believes that football cannot be treated as a mere financial asset and deplores the lack of transparency regarding the true beneficiaries of the operation.

For the organization chaired by Aleksander Čeferin, football institutions have a responsibility to protect the integrity and independence of the sport rather than opening their governance to private capital.

This disagreement marks a new episode in the recurring tensions between FIFA and UEFA over the future of world football.