FIFA Set To Receive First Private Investment Funds By End Of October

Fifa expects to receive its first cash from a controversial privatisation plan by the end of October, as football’s global governing body pushes ahead despite mounting backlash from member associations and stakeholders.

President Gianni Infantino has proposed setting up a separate entity to manage Fifa’s tournaments, one that would bring in outside investors. All 211 member federations have been given until 19 September to vote on the proposal, which will pass with a simple majority.

A leaked timeline obtained by BBC Sport shows the plan moving fast: investors get access to financial terms in August, confirm investment amounts in September, and finalize agreements and transfer money to Fifa by late October.

Critics say the rushed rollout reflects a broader failure to consult member associations before going public. Uefa has been especially vocal, accusing Fifa of dangling a $20m upfront payment — part of an initial $40m package — as leverage to secure support ahead of the September deadline. The European body’s earlier statement claimed Fifa had “crossed a line.”

Uefa has called an emergency virtual meeting for Thursday afternoon to plot its response. The confederation isn’t alone in its unease — Asian, South American, and North and Central American football bodies have voiced similar concerns, and the FA’s own chair, Debbie Hewitt, says she wasn’t told about the plan in advance despite her role as a Fifa vice-president.

At the center of the deal is Thrive Eternal, an investment vehicle tied to Joshua Kushner — brother-in-law to Ivanka Trump — which would take a 20% stake in Fifa’s competitions.

Former FA and Manchester City chairman David Bernstein has gone furthest, suggesting England should pull out of the World Cup altogether if the plan proceeds. That scenario remains extreme, though it carries weight given that three of this year’s World Cup semi-finalists come from Uefa’s 55 member nations — a mass withdrawal could badly damage the plan’s financial footing. Not every Uefa member is opposed, however; Czech FA president David Trunda said he sees practical upside for his country’s football setup.

Fifa has pushed back with an eight-page defense of the plan, arguing too little of the game’s commercial growth reaches grassroots levels. Infantino says the funding would support pitches, national team development, youth pathways, and women’s football, and in a video statement this week described the proposal as an offer rather than an obligation, insisting investors would have no say over how the World Cup itself is run. Fifa has pointed to first-time qualifiers Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan as evidence its approach is working, while also citing Formula 1 and Europe’s top leagues as models for commercial operations run by dedicated bodies.

The response so far has been largely critical. The European Leagues organization called the plan reckless and divisive, insisting the World Cup isn’t Infantino’s asset to sell. Global players’ union Fifpro urged Fifa to scrap the proposal, warning it would permanently alter the incentives underpinning its competitions. La Liga president Javier Tebas went further, accusing Infantino of using the funding push to buy support ahead of March’s Fifa congress, while Borussia Dortmund president and DFB vice-president Hans-Joachim Watzke called it a direct assault on the sport.