The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) revealed on Tuesday a project to establish a company to manage its commercial activities, organize the World Cup and its other tournaments, and increase "funding dedicated to football development" by attracting external investors.
اضافة اعلان
In a statement, FIFA clarified that its administration is "exploring the idea of consolidating all commercial rights, including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing, and licensing... through the creation of a company called 'FIFA Forward Enterprise'."
It added that "FIFA will invite external parties to make minority, non-controlling investments" in this company.
The statement indicated that "FIFA will retain exclusive control over the company through a majority on its board of directors," and will also retain "exclusive authority" regarding football governance, competitions, the match calendar, and regulatory decision-making, among others.
As a non-profit association, FIFA retains a portion of its revenues, primarily to organize its competitions and pay its employees, including its president, Gianni Infantino, who earns several million Swiss Francs annually.
The remaining portion is allocated to game development programs, which FIFA asserts will benefit from increased funding thanks to the establishment of this new company.
FIFA projected that the new company would raise "$4.2 billion" by the end of the year, and that "all its net profits will be reinvested in football," promising its members economic returns through a new funding mechanism named the "FIFA Fast Forward" program.
By merging all currently existing funding programs, FIFA hopes to provide more than $10 billion over the next four years to fund football development.
Under the current situation, FIFA was planning to distribute approximately $2.7 billion to member associations during the period extending from 2027 to 2030.
To implement this project, which still requires the approval of the FIFA Council, the supreme football governing body explained that it is working with the bank "JPMorgan" and the investment fund "Thrive Eternal," which "is expected to lead the group of potential investors in the new company."
This fund was founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which comprises European federations and often criticizes FIFA's decisions, did not delay in responding to this initiative.
In a statement, UEFA said, "The soul of football and its governance are not capital to be speculated upon, especially in the absence of transparency regarding the destination of financial profits. None of us owns football, and FIFA has no right to sell it."
— AFP
