FIFA is no longer hiding behind its nonprofit status while generating billions in revenue from the World Cup.
The global governing body announced Tuesday that it plans to create a commercial entity that could bring in billions of additional dollars each World Cup cycle.
FIFA estimated it made $15 billion off this summer’s World Cup—up from about $7.6 billion from the last World Cup cycle and 2022 tournament—and the new entity would seek to “unlock the full potential” of sponsorship and media-rights revenue for the men’s and women’s World Cups, as well as other FIFA tournaments.
FIFA said it plans to create a company called FIFA Forward Enterprise, a new commercial and events business arm that it would own and control. It estimates the move could bring up to an additional $20 million for each member country’s federation by 2030—plus more in subsequent World Cup cycles—and it intends to raise $4.2 billion from investors this year to fund that program. The entity has an initial valuation of $20 billion, FIFA said.
All of this would need approval from the majority of FIFA’s more than 200 member associations, the individual national soccer federations that make up its ranks.
