FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s plan to create a $20 billion company to run the World Cup with private investors, including the Kushner family, has been announced and immediately attacked by European soccer body UEFA.

UEFA’s Response

UEFA stated that ‘it is not FIFA’s to sell’ and that ‘none of us are the owners of football.’ The plan, which would create a commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), would raise up to $4.2 billion later this year to help fund development programs.

FIFA is working with J.P. Morgan, and intended investors include Thrive Eternal, launched by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is a son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump. The men’s World Cup that finished this month has deepened the political and personal ties between Trump and Infantino, and fueled concerns about those ties, including from UEFA.

FIFA’s Statement

FIFA stated that the new company would ‘unleash the commercial potential and opportunity that FIFA has.’ The organization also stated that its 211 national member federations would have to approve any plan and would get the chance ‘to access up to $20 million in one-off capital.’ FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, said that ‘this is about the democratization of football worldwide.’

UEFA, however, said it took reports of the project ‘extremely seriously’ and that ‘every national Football Association’ should do the same. The organization stated that ‘the soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially.’

Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.