EU warns it will investigate Fifa’s $20bn commercial venture
Bloc joins protests against plans by football’s governing body to raise billions from outside investors
The EU has warned that it will investigate Fifa’s plan to sell a stake in a new commercial entity to outside investors, as the football governing bodies of Europe and North America led a growing chorus of opposition to the proposal.
Glenn Micallef, the EU’s commissioner for sport, said Brussels would study the plan under its antitrust powers, warning that the proposal “raises profound questions about governance, independence and conflicts of interest”.
“Hands off our game. This isn’t baseball,” Micallef said in a statement. “Enough is enough. The relentless commercialisation of football has become corrosive. It’s threatening the things that made football the world’s most popular sport.”
The EU’s warning came after Concacaf, the federation that runs football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, said it was “deeply concerned” by the plan being pushed by Fifa president Gianni Infantino, echoing criticism from its European counterpart Uefa.
Concacaf expressed “disappointment” that detailed plans had been put together “before any discussion with the relevant governance bodies and stakeholders has taken place”.
The federation, which encompasses 41 of Fifa’s 211 national member associations, said on Wednesday that it was “deeply concerned by the lack of due process”.
Fifa, a Switzerland-based non-profit, announced on Tuesday that it would form a new company dubbed Fifa Forward Enterprise that would house its commercial and media rights, including those to the men’s World Cup. The governing body plans to sell a roughly 20 per cent stake in the vehicle in a deal valuing it at about $20bn.
Talks are already advanced with Thrive Eternal, an investment vehicle run by Joshua Kushner, brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared.
The aim is to capitalise on the commercial success of the recent men’s World Cup, which helped football’s global governing body generate at least $13bn in revenue during the four-year cycle ending this year.
Micallef, who oversees EU sports policies, raised concerns over “when Fifa’s regulatory powers become aligned with the financial interests of private entities”.
“These are also proposals that raise important competition law considerations,” he added. The European Commission is the 27-country bloc’s antitrust regulator.
Under Fifa’s plan, the funds raised would be used in part to increase annual payments to members from $2mn a year to $5mn. Each would also receive a one-off payment of $20mn. Fifa’s member associations, which range in size from India and China to Gibraltar and the island of Montserrat, are all treated equally.
Infantino wrote to the associations on Tuesday outlining the plans, giving them a deadline of September 19 to approve or reject them and state whether they wanted to opt into the programme.
The proposals, first reported on Tuesday by the FT, are subject to a simple majority vote of Fifa member associations, and then sign-off by the Fifa Council. If the plans are rejected, members will not receive any increase in their annual funding.
Uefa, which runs the game in Europe, said on Wednesday that the tight deadline given by Fifa “says everything you need to know about this plan”, and that there was “significant and growing opposition” from across the game.
“Fifa cannot continue to use our sport to enrich themselves and their friends,” it added. Uefa, with 55 members, and Concacaf together account for close to half of Fifa’s membership.
The Asian Football Confederation said it was “disappointed” not to have been consulted on an initiative that might “reshape the commercial and financial future of the game” but did not express any position on the proposals themselves.
Andy Burnham, who took over as UK prime minister this month, added to the backlash on Tuesday, saying that the game “does not belong to investors”.
“The World Cup is not a product . . . dress the deal up however you like. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out,” Burnham said.
The English Football Association said it was “deeply concerned” by the lack of process and the “apparent substance and principles involved”.
In the US, Democrats on the House judiciary committee said the investment plan was further evidence of Fifa seeking to curry favour with the Trump family. Infantino gave the US president a new “Fifa Peace Prize” in December. Fifa has also leased office space in New York’s Trump Tower.
“Now Infantino performs a kickback hat trick by pursuing a multibillion-dollar deal with Jared Kushner’s brother to sell ownership stakes in the World Cup to private investors,” they said.
Football Supporters Europe, an umbrella group representing fans, also hit out at the plan and demanded Infantino step down. The group had been highly critical of Fifa’s approach to ticketing at the recent World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, where prices were significantly higher than in previous tournaments.
European Football Clubs, a powerful lobby group representing more than 850 clubs, expressed “serious concern” about Fifa’s plans.
On Tuesday, Infantino said the plan was “about the democratisation of football worldwide” and that the money raised would be “invested heavily even in the smallest or most remote parts of the footballing world”.
The proposals involve increasing the money available for football development over the next four years to $10bn from the current $4bn.