UEFA Resists FIFA's Sale of World Cup Shares
All 55 member countries of UEFA voted unanimously to resist all FIFA events if FIFA proceeds with plans to sell minority stakes in the World Cup and other events to private investors.
The plan aims to establish a commercial entity valued at $20 billion, selling approximately 20% of its shares to raise up to $4.2 billion, led by Josh Kushner's Thrive Eternal, who is the brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Trump.
UEFA stated that the soul and governance of football are non-negotiable and demanded the complete abandonment of the plan along with guarantees that private ownership will never be allowed.
Source: Public Information
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FIFA President Infantino is promoting the establishment of the FIFA Forward Enterprise commercial subsidiary, separating commercial operations from event management and introducing private capital, with funds intended for member association development projects. However, UEFA views this as a breach of governance boundaries.
On the capital front, led by JPMorgan advisors and Josh Kushner's fund, combined with Infantino's close ties to Trump, concerns have arisen in Europe about political capital infiltrating football, with other federations like CONCACAF also expressing opposition.
Similar cases can be seen in the failure of the European Super League and early controversies over football commercialization; the current global football governance is at a stage of increasing tension between non-profit associations and private capital.
Essentially, this is a transfer of pricing power: the commercial rights of events are partially ceded from collective control by member associations to private investors, driven by valuation realization pressure and political connections accelerating governance model reconstruction.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Football governance cannot be privatized
Political capital accelerates resistance among federations
Collective veto power outweighs financial temptation