FIFA wants to sell a piece of the World Cup. Not tickets, not broadcasting slots in the old sense — a stake in the commercial rights to its tournaments themselves, including the men's World Cup, the women's World Cup, and the Club World Cup.

The plan, announced on or about July 28, 2026, involves creating a new entity called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) in partnership with US bank JP Morgan. FFE would sell a significant minority stake in the media and sponsorship rights to FIFA's tournaments, raising hundreds of millions of dollars from private investors (The Guardian). Reuters, citing a source familiar with the matter, reported the same day that the stake on offer is a minority one (Reuters). FIFA is reportedly valuing the new venture at around $20bn.

Thrive Capital, the investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner — brother of Jared Kushner, the former US presidential senior adviser — is leading the search for investors. FIFA president Gianni Infantino framed the plan as a way to run "the commercial side of the game as a focused, dedicated business, with its value shared more and better all around the world" (The Guardian). FIFA has promised the scheme would generate "over $10bn" to redistribute among its 211 member associations. That pitch comes hard on the heels of a 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico that generated more than $15bn in revenue — already a record sum for the organisation.

The reaction from Europe has been fierce. UEFA, which governs football across the continent, released a statement accusing FIFA of "attempting to sell the soul of football." It went further: "This crosses a line that football's governing institutions should never cross." UEFA called on national associations, leagues, clubs, players, supporters, and governments to take the matter seriously and added: "The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA's to sell" (The Guardian). UEFA is believed to be considering its legal options.

The plan needs approval from a majority of FIFA's member associations to proceed, but FIFA has not said when a vote might happen. Reports of the proposal first surfaced in The Times and the Financial Times before broader coverage, and Infantino had kept the plans under wraps until those stories broke. Members of the FIFA Council — the body that sets the organisation's strategic direction — were reportedly surprised by the announcement, having been sidelined from the decision-making process.

Relations between FIFA and UEFA were already poor. UEFA had previously accused FIFA of undermining World Cup integrity after the governing body overturned a red card shown to USA striker Folarin Balogun following a personal appeal from President Trump. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund was named an official tournament supporter of the 2026 World Cup, covering grassroots, youth, and women's football (Reuters, May 2026).

For fans, the question is simple and uncomfortable. The World Cup is the one tournament that belongs to everyone — every nation, every four years, a shared memory written in goals. If a slice of its commercial future passes to private investors, who gets a say, who profits, and what happens to the idea that the game is not a balance sheet? Those are the stakes FIFA's members will weigh whenever the vote arrives. UEFA, for its part, has made clear it will not be quiet in the meantime.