US President Donald Trump speaks with FIFA President Gianni Infantino as confetti falls at the conclusion of the World Cup championship final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19. [Photo/Agencies]
The governing body of European soccer, UEFA, has reacted angrily to a plan by Gianni Infantino, president of the sport's world governing body FIFA, to set up a company involving private investors to run soccer's biggest competition, the World Cup.
The 2026 tournament was recently held in Canada, Mexico and the United States, but with most games, including the final, taking place in the US, it was seen as a US-dominated tournament.
There was fury when having already been given the previously non-existent FIFA Peace Prize, US President Donald Trump intervened after a US player was suspended for a vital match, with the suspension being deferred, and now it has emerged that the proposed company would involve the brother of Trump's son-in-law.
FIFA's plan is for a company handling commercial rights, called FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE, valued at around $20 billion, with $4.2 billion being raised by the sale of minority, non-controlling stakes. The investor group for FFE is set to be led by Thrive Eternal, a company founded by Joshua Kushner, who is the brother of President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, according to The Independent report.
