• Boycott on the table: European soccer governing body UEFA will discuss a number of measures — including a possible boycott of the World Cup — over FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s plan to create a $20 billion company running major tournaments with private investors.
• Escalating dispute: Infantino’s proposal, announced Tuesday, has drawn outrage from UEFA, which said in a statement: “None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.” In a second statement Wednesday, the European organization said it had learned member federations had been given a deadline of September 19 to accept the proposal and with it an initial payout, adding, “This says everything you need to know about this plan.”
• Kushner family backing: FIFA is working with JP Morgan on the commercial subsidiary, which would be called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). Intended investors include Thrive Eternal, founded by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is a son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
The FIFA proposal was developed rather opaquely. The first news of it came in a report in the Times of London before it was confirmed by the global soccer body.
Soccer authorities have criticized FIFA for not consulting them on the plans before they were released to the public. Both CONCACAF (North and Central American and Caribbean governing body) and the Asian Football Confederation released statements saying they were unhappy at the lack of consultation.
