FIFA plans to form new commercial subsidiary and sell stake

FIFA has announced plans to form a commercial subsidiary and to sell a non-controlling interest to private investors. It needs approval from member associations, but is claiming that it will benefit them financially.

https://p.dw.com/p/5HuDM Advertisement FIFA plans to create a new commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion (roughly €17.5 billion) and sell non-controlling minority stakes to investors, world football's governing body announced on Tuesday .

It called on its 211 member federations to back the plan, saying that if they voted in favor they "would benefit immediately from increased funding."

As soon as the news emerged, European football federation UEFA issued fierce criticism of the plan, saying it "crosses a line that football's governing institutions should never cross."

The push comes immediately after this summer's World Cup hosted primarily in the US , with FIFA listing a series of potential investors and advisors from the country. Infantino's close relationship with US President Donald Trump had already prompted criticism in some corners prior to Tuesday's announcement, which came a day after Infantino issued a fiery statement defending the tournament in the US and the controversies that accompanied it .

FIFA said that it planned to set up a "new FIFA-owned and controlled subsidiary consolidating FIFA's commercial and event operations" that it would call the FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE.

It said this company would be valued at $20 billion and that FFE would aim to raise up to $4.2 billion "this year" by "carefully selecting long-term investors who will purchase minority, non-controlling interests in FFE."

FIFA claimed that "all net benefits of FFE will be reinvested back into football worldwide," without clarifying what constituted "net benefits," or what gains investors then stood to make.

FFE would be responsible for FIFA's commercial rights like broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing contracts, the statement said. By far the most valuable of these for FIFA are those connected to the World Cup, although other competitions like the recently and controversially relaunched FIFA Club World Cup also apply.

Ahead of this month's World Cup final in New York, FIFA President Gianni Infantino had told member associations that he wanted to "unleash the commercial potential and opportunity" of the organization.

Infantino tried to portray the changes as seeking to more evenly spread out football funding and to "democratize" the game, seemingly in a pitch aimed at less wealthy (and more numerous) football associations in particular.

"As its global governing body, FIFA is responsible for making sure the game reaches every corner of the world, and that the value it creates supports federations and communities everywhere. Our next stage of growth needs a structure built for it, one where the commercial side of the game operates as a focused, dedicated business, with its value shared more and better all around the world," Infantino said in FIFA's press release.

"We intend to invest heavily even in the smallest or most remote parts of the footballing world, places that are too often passed over," Infantino said, championing the new investment scheme dubbed the FIFA Fast Forward Programme, or FFFP.

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FIFA's press release was published soon after an article on the website of UK newspaper The Times — followed soon after by the Financial Times , Bloomberg and others — began attracting international attention.

The European football federation UEFA issued a scathing response online soon after the news broke.

"This crosses a line that football's governing insitutions should never cross," it said. "UEFA takes it extremely seriously. So should every National Football Association. So should every stakeholder: leagues, clubs, players, supporters, governments, and everyone who cares about the future of the game."

UEFA said that the "soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially."

UEFA and FIFA have clashed repeated in recent months and years under Infantino's stewardship, including during the World Cup this summer.

"None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA's to sell," UEFA argued.

UEFA, however, only represents around one quarter of FIFA's member associations, so its opposition is by no means guaranteed to halt the plan.

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FIFA said its structure would be similar to "other sports governing bodies with dedicated commercial subsidiaries," and said that investors would be selected "against clear long-term, governance and strategic criteria."

It described ideal investors as long-term partners who could contribute capital and commercial expertise to help FIFA's goal of growing the game.

"Subject to these final agreements and required approvals, Thrive Eternal, a permanent capital holding company, is expected to lead the proposed investor group for FFE," FIFA said, referring to the holding company set up this year by Joshua Kushner, brother of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior negotiator Jared Kushner .

Infantino's relations with Trump came under scrutiny more than once amid the World Cup process — perhaps most notably when FIFA overturned the red card suspension of US striker Folarin Balogun ahead of defeat against Belgium , and when Donald Trump was given the inaugural "FIFA Peace Prize" in a much-mocked event last December. This came weeks before the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and then the war with Iran.

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