Gianni Infantino has set a deadline of 19 September for all 211 FIFA member associations to decide whether they will back his controversial proposal to carve out a portion of FIFA's commercial operations and sell minority stakes to private investors. In a confidential letter disclosed to the press, Infantino offered a financial incentive worth roughly £30.1 million (about $40 million) to any association that votes in favour of the plan.
The proposal, branded as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), would combine the sale of FIFA's commercial rights—including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing—with the operational delivery of its tournaments under a single corporate vehicle. According to the draft, FIFA aims to raise up to £3.1 billion (approximately $4.2 billion) from external investors by selling non‑controlling, minority stakes in FFE, which FIFA values at around £15 billion ($20 billion). The governing body argues that the venture could generate more than £7.53 billion ($10 billion) for football development over the next four years, provided the plan receives the necessary approval from its members.
Infantino warned that any association that refuses to support the sale would see a substantial reduction in the funding available for grassroots projects, national team programmes and other development initiatives. He suggested that without the infusion of private capital, the cash flow to member associations could drop from the projected £7.5 million per association per cycle to a fraction of that amount. The letter makes clear that the success of the scheme hinges on securing backing from more than half of FIFA's members as well as approval from the organisation's ruling council.
The deadline of 19 September 2026 is presented as a hard cut‑off so that the new structure can be launched in time for the first tranche of funds to become available on 1 January 2027. Infantino framed the offer as a "unique funding opportunity" for those associations that choose to participate, emphasizing that the money would be released immediately once the plan is ratified.
The financial stakes have been dramatically increased from the figures initially announced by FIFA on Tuesday, when the governing body said the new venture would unlock £15 million ($20 million) in funding from 2027 to 2030. The revised letter now doubles that amount, promising a pot of £30 million for early adopters. Reaction from the football community has been swift and largely negative.
UEFA, the European governing body, issued a scathing statement calling the proposal a "crossing of a line" and threatened to organise a boycott if Infantino pushes ahead without broad consensus. An emergency virtual meeting of UEFA's 55 member associations is scheduled for Thursday to discuss a coordinated response. In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Andy Burnham took to X (formerly Twitter) to denounce the plan, asserting that "football does not belong to investors.
It belongs to the people who fill the stands and who stand on the touchline week in, week out, rain or shine." The English FA echoed similar concerns, stating that they were unaware of the details and expressing deep unease about the lack of transparent governance surrounding the proposal. The Football Association of Wales and the Irish FA also issued statements indicating they had not received substantive information and would await a full, transparent briefing before forming an opinion. The European Leagues, which represents over 1,000 clubs across 31 countries, released a condemnation of the plan, a stance that was fully supported by the Premier League. These bodies argue that the commercial rights of the sport should not be treated as tradable assets and warn that the proposal could undermine the integrity of football's governance.
Relations between FIFA and UEFA have already been strained. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin recently missed the World Cup final in protest over a series of FIFA governance issues, including the handling of the Folarin Balogun case. The sudden emergence of the FFE proposal—without prior discussion at the New York meetings that preceded the World Cup final—has intensified the discord. The letter also revealed that JP Morgan is acting as the financial adviser for the project, while Thrive Capital—led by Josh Kushner, brother‑in‑law of former U.S.
President Donald Trump’s son‑in‑law Jared Kushner—has been identified as a potential lead investor group. FIFA maintains that any external investment would be placed in a subsidiary rather than in FIFA itself, preserving the organisation's sole control over football governance, competition structures, the international match calendar and all regulatory decisions.
Infantino argues that the new structure would "democratise football worldwide" by channeling a larger share of commercial revenues back into development projects across the globe. He described football as "the world’s most popular sport and an extraordinary engine of human and social development" and claimed that the current commercial model has already turned that popularity into "remarkable commercial value". According to Infantino, the proposed entity would focus exclusively on maximising that value for the benefit of all member associations.
Critics, however, have questioned whether Infantino himself stands to gain personally from the venture. While FIFA has denied any discussion of Infantino becoming chief executive of the new subsidiary after his presidential term ends in 2031, the organisation acknowledged that both the president and senior administration would need to play leading roles in the new entity to ensure FIFA retains ultimate control. FIFA, a not‑for‑profit organisation owned by its 211 member associations, enjoys tax‑exempt status in Switzerland.
Its projected revenue for the 2022‑26 cycle is around $15 billion (£11.26 billion), driven largely by television rights, sponsorship deals and ticket sales from the men's World Cup. The next major tournament, the women's World Cup in Brazil, is scheduled for next year. Sky Sports correspondent Kaveh Solhekol summed up the atmosphere of disbelief and frustration within the football world: "It’s shocking how nothing is shocking any more. According to FIFA, this was the most successful World Cup ever, with money pouring in from ticket sales and commercial deals.
Infantino and his inner circle see that cash flow as a springboard for a private‑investment subsidiary. The big question is whether the 211 member associations will accept the deal, because if they reject it, the funding pool could shrink from £7.5 billion to just £2 billion." The controversy highlights a broader debate about the commercialisation of football and the balance of power between global governing bodies, regional confederations, national associations, clubs, players and fans.
As the deadline approaches, the sport’s stakeholders will be watching closely to see whether the promised financial windfall will be enough to overcome the principled objections that many see as a threat to the soul and governance of the beautiful game.