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See the full story · 1 sourcesRodri #16 of Spain lifts the FIFA World Cup Winner’s Trophy after the team’s victory on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Alex Pantling - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
FIFA via Getty Images
With the confetti from the last World Cup barely cleared from the pitch, FIFA has found itself at the center of another controversy. This time the dispute isn’t about where the World Cup will be played, who qualified for the tournament, or whether a particular red card was appropriate .
Instead, the fight is over ownership.
Earlier this week, FIFA announced plans to create a new commercial entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), that would manage the commercial operations of its main competitions, including the men's and women's World Cups. FIFA would then sell a 21% interest in that company to outside investors. According to FIFA, each member association could receive up to $20 million in immediate funding for special projects, in addition to $20 million in FIFA Forward funding for the 2027–2030 cycle.
(Thrive Capital, founded by billionaire Josh Kushner , the brother of President Trump’s son-in-law, would head up the proposed investor group.)
To move forward, FIFA needs the support of a majority of its member associations, along with the necessary approvals from the 37-member FIFA Council. That doesn’t look like a sure thing.
The proposal has already prompted a fierce response. UEFA, European football’s governing body, says it is prepared to boycott future FIFA competitions if the transaction moves forward. In a post published on Instagram, UEFA said, speaking for its member associations, that “We unanimously and unequivocally reject FIFA’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors.”
The post went on to say, “The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of football's greatest sporting legacies. It has been built over generations by players, national teams and supporters across every continent. No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.”
The post has garnered over a million likes.
What FIFA is Proposing
Today, FIFA owns the commercial rights associated with its biggest tournaments like the World Cup. Those rights include broadcast agreements, sponsorships, licensing, hospitality, and other revenue streams tied to the World Cup and other international competitions.
Under the proposal, those operations would be transferred into a newly created company known as FIFA Forward Enterprise. FIFA would remain the controlling owner, but it would sell a 21% minority stake to those outside investors, who would then be entitled to a share of the company's future financial returns.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because businesses do this all the time. In the U.S., we’ve seen a similar playbook with private equity, an investment strategy where firms buy stakes in companies or subsidiaries, like accounting firms . The typical approach is to streamline operations and inject capital into the company to grow the business, then sell it—or pieces of it—for a profit.
That’s similar to what FIFA is proposing, at least initially. The setup mirrors how private equity typically begins. But nothing so far in FIFA’s proposal suggests the investors’ stake is meant to be flipped—it’s being described as an ongoing partnership. What's most different here is the asset. The proposal centers on the commercial rights associated with the World Cup, the organization’s signature event and its largest source of revenue. Those rights are valuable. When all the dollars are counted, FIFA expects to generate nearly $9 billion in revenue during 2026, the year of the World Cup, including almost $4 billion from television rights, roughly $3 billion from hospitality and ticket sales, and nearly $1.8 billion from sponsorships and marketing.
And while fans know that it’s a money-maker, critics of the proposal argue that the World Cup is more than simply an asset. They see it as the centerpiece of an organization whose mission is to promote and develop football (what we Americans call soccer) around the world. Introducing private investors changes the relationship between the tournament and the organization that oversees it.
How FIFA is Structured
Today, FIFA serves as the international governing body for association football, as well as futsal and beach soccer. Organized under Swiss law and headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, it has 211 member associations representing countries and territories around the world. FIFA’s stated objectives include promoting and developing football globally, organizing international competitions such as the World Cup, establishing and enforcing the rules and regulations governing the sport, and supporting the growth of football through development programs like FIFA Forward.
Vozinha #1 of Cabo Verde applaud fans at Atlanta Stadium on June 15, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Each FIFA member association has one vote in the FIFA Congress, regardless of size. Spain has one vote. So does Cabo Verde. Argentina has one vote. So does Curaçao. You get the idea. The structure reflects FIFA's role as the international governing body for football rather than an organization designed to represent only the sport's largest or wealthiest associations.
Most of FIFA’s revenue comes from competitions, particularly the World Cup. Broadcasting rights account for the largest share, followed by marketing partnerships, sponsorships, licensing agreements, hospitality programs, and ticket sales.
In a typical World Cup, those revenues total billions of dollars. FIFA says the money is used for administration, international competitions, and finance development programs throughout the world. That includes grants distributed through FIFA Forward to member associations for infrastructure, youth dev...
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