Infantino turns to video pitch as Fifa seeks backing for contentious World Cup investment vehicle

Gianni Infantino has recorded a direct video message to all 211 Fifa member associations as he attempts to win support for a controversial new commercial structure that would allow private investors to buy stakes linked to the World Cup.

The Fifa president is pushing ahead with the “Fifa Forward Enterprise” project – a new company designed to bundle and centralise parts of the world governing body’s economic activities – with the promise that it will unlock outside capital and increase funding for football development worldwide.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Fifa confirmed that Infantino intends to sell shares tied to the World Cup to private-sector investors through this vehicle, in what would represent a significant shift in how the tournament’s commercial rights are monetised.

The plan has already provoked strong criticism, particularly from UEFA, amid accusations that Fifa is embarking on a gradual break-up and sell-off of the World Cup’s commercial assets. There have also been warnings from within European football that such a move could ultimately lead to threats of boycotting future tournaments.

Global investor network targeted

According to information first reported by Politico and relayed by French outlet Foot Mercato, the US investment firm Thrive Capital is seeking to play a central role in building the project’s financial backbone.

Thrive Capital, led by American businessman Joshua Kushner – the brother of Jared Kushner, son‐in‐law of former US president Donald Trump – is reportedly working to assemble a broad and internationally diverse group of backers.

The fund is said to be targeting partnerships with sovereign wealth funds, major financial institutions and private investors across Europe, Asia and Latin America, with the aim of creating a “global and diversified” investor base for the Fifa Forward Enterprise structure.

While no specific investors have been officially confirmed, the strategy underlines Fifa’s desire to tap into long-term institutional capital rather than relying solely on traditional sponsorship and broadcast deals tied directly to individual tournaments.

New governance structure and phased approval

As part of the restructuring, Fifa plans to appoint an interim leader to oversee the day‐to‐day running of Fifa Forward Enterprise. This figure will operate under the supervision of a dedicated board of directors, reflecting moves to give the new company its own governance framework within the wider Fifa ecosystem.

Infantino’s decision to address all 211 member associations via a pre‐recorded video is intended to present the proposal directly and to persuade national federations that the scheme will increase, rather than dilute, the money flowing back into their domestic programmes.

The approval process is expected to unfold in two distinct stages. First, Fifa’s members will be asked collectively to vote on whether the Fifa Forward Enterprise project itself should proceed. Only if that initial green light is secured would a second phase begin, in which each association would then decide individually whether to participate in, or align with, the new structure.

The staggered approach is seen as an attempt to ease concerns among member associations, some of whom fear losing control over future revenues or becoming tied to a model they do not fully understand.

Sensitive plan faces mounting scrutiny

The proposal comes at a time when the commercial and calendar power of the World Cup is already under intense scrutiny, with European officials wary of any further shift in the balance of influence within global football.

UEFA’s criticisms have focused on the perceived risk that transferring parts of the World Cup’s commercial value into a separate investment vehicle – and selling pieces of that vehicle to external investors – could weaken existing guarantees and concentrate too much power in private hands.

Fifa, for its part, argues that opening the door to private equity and sovereign wealth funds would provide fresh resources that can be channelled back into infrastructure, youth development and grassroots programmes around the world.

With Infantino now moving to a more personalised campaign via video, and investor interest reportedly being marshalled behind the scenes, the coming votes by the 211 member associations will determine whether Fifa Forward Enterprise becomes a pillar of the organisation’s future – or another flashpoint in the ongoing battle over control of the global game’s most valuable asset.