Press reports have revealed the intention of Swiss Gianni Infantino, president of the International Football Association "FIFA", to establish and sell shares in a commercial company affiliated with FIFA, which the European Union rejected outright.
The newspaper "rmcsport" said that Infantino was in contact with investors close to the Trump administration to discuss the establishment and sale of shares in a commercial company linked to FIFA.
It reported that this deal would give the International Football Association a huge amount, and with the end of the 2026 World Cup, Infantino is making contacts with a number of potential investors regarding an important agreement between FIFA and private sector companies.
Currently, the International Football Association operates as a non-profit organization, but the new project could be very profitable, and according to the newspaper "The Times", the value of this commercial company would be around 20 billion dollars.
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The International Football Association is scheduled to retain control of its stake, but Infantino wants to bring in a shareholder with a 20% stake, and based on the current valuation level, this would amount to an injection of approximately 4 billion dollars.
FIFA currently distributes nearly 2 million dollars annually to all federations, and after this deal, this amount could be increased.
The Financial Times newspaper reported that the frontrunner to become FIFA's partner is the investment fund "Thrive Eternal", a company where Joshua Kushner serves as its CEO and is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and former White House advisor.
The European Union rejected this proposal outright, in an official statement: "This crosses the red line that football governing bodies should never cross".
He added: "The European Football Association 'UEFA' takes this situation seriously, as do all national football associations, in addition to all relevant parties, leagues, clubs, players, fans, governments, and everyone concerned with the future of this sport".
He concluded: "The essence of football and its management are not assets to be bought and sold, especially in the absence of full transparency regarding the financial beneficiaries. None of us owns football, and FIFA has no right to sell it".