国际足联主席詹尼·因蒂诺宣布将继续推进一项争议性私募融资方案，尽管面临来自全球主要足球组织的广泛反对。该计划拟创建商业子公司FIFA Forward Enterprise，向私人投资者出售少数股权以筹集资金。[1][4]根据方案，这家商业子公司估值约200亿美元，计划筹集42亿美元，投资方由Joshua Kushner（特朗普女婿Jared Kushner的兄弟）创办的Thrive Capital领导。[4][8]
欧洲足球协会55个成员协会在周四全票投票赞成抵制该计划，声明称"世界杯不能被视为投资产品"。[4]北美足球协会（Concacaf）的41个成员协会已拒绝该提议。[1]亚洲足球联合会代表的47个亚洲成员协会也加入反对，表示该计划"无法现实地获得必要的广泛共识"。[5][6]这意味着反对者已控制FIFA 211个成员协会中的多数。[6]
FIFA需在9月19日前获得多数成员支持方可推进该计划，并承诺向各国协会提供一次性补偿2000万美元，以及2027至2030周期内每年2000万美元的资金。[2][3][4]尽管反对声浪如潮，FIFA主席因蒂诺坚持称"没有人在出售足球"。[1]
高级官员的离职进一步凸显了该计划的争议性。FIFA顾问卡洛斯·科尔德罗周五辞去白宫世界杯特别工作组顾问职务以示抗议，批评这笔交易"对足球是坏交易，对这项运动的长期未来是坏交易"。[7][9]他指出FIFA在2022至2026年期间已创造150亿美元收入，坐拥数十亿美元储备且无债务，质疑该计划的必要性和透明度。[8]英国首相Andy Burnham呼吁因蒂诺因该计划辞职，声称"足球不属于投资者，属于填满看台的球迷"。[10]
FIFA is moving forward with a controversial private investment scheme despite mounting resistance from football's governing bodies worldwide. The proposal would establish FIFA Forward Enterprise, a commercial subsidiary valued at approximately $20 billion, with plans to sell a minority stake worth $4.2 billion to private investors led by Joshua Kushner and his Thrive Capital firm.[1][3][4][8]
The governing body insists that "nobody is selling football,"[1] even as opposition intensifies on multiple continents. UEFA's 55 member associations voted unanimously to boycott all FIFA competitions, including the 2030 World Cup, should the plan proceed.[2][4][8] CONCACAF's 41 member associations have rejected the proposal entirely,[1][4] and the Asian Football Confederation has declared the scheme cannot realistically achieve the necessary broad consensus.[5][6] Combined, these three continental bodies control the majority of FIFA's 211 member associations, effectively blocking the path to approval.[6][8]
FIFA member associations must indicate their support in writing by September 19 to move the plan forward.[2][4][8] The proposal would provide each member association with a $20 million one-time payment if approved, with additional annual funding of $20 million during the 2027–2030 funding cycle.[4][7] However, prominent figures have publicly rejected these terms. Carlos Cordeiro, a FIFA senior adviser and former US Soccer president, resigned on Friday in protest, calling the deal "a bad deal for FIFA's member associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game."[7][8][10]
Cordeiro questioned the fundamental rationale for the transaction, noting that FIFA generated $15 billion in revenue between 2022 and 2026, maintains reserves worth billions, and carries no debt.[8] UEFA reinforced this position with a statement declaring that "the World Cup cannot be viewed as an investment product...the World Cup is not for sale."[4] Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham went further, calling on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to resign, arguing that "football does not belong to investors. It belongs to the people who fill the stands."[10]