FIFA President Gianni Infantino's plan has now been made public. The objective is grand and no longer considered negotiable: to sell part of the World Cup rights to private investment funds, with the aim of raising billions of dollars through the new company FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which will manage the commercial rights to the World Cup for national teams and the World Cup for clubs. Among the interested parties is the American investment bank JP Morgan, with the involvement of the Thrive Eternal fund, run by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Donald Trump.
After the controversy that has come from different parts of the football and political world, starting with UEFA, Infantino has launched a counterattack. In a letter sent to all 211 member federations, the FIFA president has issued a warning, albeit in an indirect way. The message is clear: federations that join the FFE project will immediately benefit from a single payment of 20 million dollars, while annual contributions for the next four years will increase from 2 million to 5 million dollars. A considerable sum, difficult for many smaller federations to refuse. For those who choose not to support the project, the price will be very high: an immediate reduction of 75% of FIFA's funds. A message that is interpreted as an ultimatum of the "take it or leave it" type.
The deadline has already begun. Infantino's ultimatum expires on September 19, right on the eve of the major international break, a period that will also mark the return of Roberto Mancini to the Italy bench. The federations have only a few weeks to choose which side they will stand on: support FIFA's project or risk losing a large part of their funding. The fight for control of world football has just begun.
