Fifa wants to sell part of the World Cup to private investors – Uefa is probably considering a boycott

Fifa asserted that it would remain the majority shareholder after the creation of such a company, which would have to be approved by Congress and the Council. According to their information, private investors should be able to acquire around 20 percent of the shares in the new FFE. Loud Times The aim is also to enable the 211 Fifa member associations to receive shares that they can either keep or sell. Such a deal could increase the pressure to further expand the field of participants in a World Cup or to host the World Cup more frequently than before in order to increase profits.

The European Football Union UEFA reacted to the alleged plan with sharp criticism. According to consistent media reports, UEFA wants to hold an emergency meeting this week to discuss its further reaction to the plans. According to Sky, ESPN and Bloomberg, there is also talk of a possible boycott of the World Cup.

“This crosses a line that the institutions responsible for football should never cross,” said the umbrella organization. UEFA is taking the matter very seriously. “The soul and leadership of football are not commodities – especially not when there is a complete lack of transparency about who benefits financially from it. None of us own football. It is not for sale to FIFA,” the statement continued.

According to the research, the plans are included Times People close to Donald Trump’s US government were also included. Fifa confirmed that technology investor Joshua Kushner’s holding company Thrive Eternal, whose brother Jared is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, would lead the proposed investor group for FFE. The investment plans have been prepared for several months and still need to be approved, it said. FIFA is working with the investment bank JP Morgan on its plans.

Such a deal would also have an impact on Infantino’s tasks at Fifa: If the model is implemented, the 56-year-old could lead the new company as commissioner or managing director after the end of his last term as FIFA president, which is expected to last until 2031. Infantino had already pursued similar plans in 2018, when he sought a billion-dollar deal involving Saudi Arabian investors for the Club World Cup and a global Nations League. However, this deal did not receive sufficient support within FIFA and therefore did not take place. At the head of a private World Cup company, Infantino can expect a high double-digit million salary per year, it is said.