FIFA has since confirmed the report, adding that Josh Kushner is positioned to be the lead investor in the plan, should Infantino decide to sell shares in the World Cup. Josh is the brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Donald Trump.
Details of the plan are murky, but according to the report, the World Cup would apparently separate from FIFA and become a new corporation, with Infantino as its commissioner as soon as his term as FIFA president ends in 2031. In his role as commissioner of this new company he would oversee the men’s and women’s World Cup, as well as the Club World Cup, with plans to host tournaments more frequently than every four years. It would be the most astonishing twist in World Cup history, drastically altering the future of the tournament in order to squeeze more money out of the event.
Infantino cannot privatize the World Cup unilaterally, and demands that all 211 member countries vote on the proposal. The selling point for these members is that each of them would get a stake in the new company worth approximately $20 million, bringing the entity’s valuation to $4.22 billion. If that sum of 20 million dollars for each nation seems insignificant, it is because it is, and it seems that that is the designed plan.
Member countries would be free to hold or sell their stakes in the World Cup corporation at will under the Infantino plan. $20 million is a pittance for the richest nations competing in world soccer, but for the dozens of nations facing budget problems it would allow them to desperately sell their participation in the World Cup, putting their bets in the hands of private ownership. It is easy to imagine a scenario in which enough FIFA member countries sell their shares for profits to the point where the majority interest in the World Cup is no longer under the control of a truly democratic body, but rather private capital.
“This crosses a line that the institutions that govern football should never cross. UEFA takes this very seriously. So should all national football federations. So should all stakeholders: leagues, clubs, players, fans, governments and everyone who cares about the future of the game. The soul and governance of football are not assets to be traded, especially with zero transparency as to who wins financially. None of us own football. It is not for FIFA to sell it.”
Raising further concerns about this plan is the news that FIFA is requiring senior officials, as well as potential investors, to sign confidentiality agreements to maintain their identities. In short: Infantino’s plan is to sell out the global game, making tens of millions of profits in the process, naming himself the leader and without transparency about who is in control or what their motives might be.
The Times report also claims that Jared Kushner was initially planned to be the key player in the deal, but that Infantino and FIFA transferred ownership to Jared’s younger brother, due to concerns about the optics of the politics involved. That inherently means that both Infantino and the Trump family (with the Kushners as representatives) are aware of this series of corruption deals and want to try to divert attention.
This could have an unprecedented impact on the future of world football, the host selection process and the motivation behind the World Cup itself.
