FIFA plans to sell stakes in $20 billion subsidiary to run World Cup, angering UEFA

July 28 : FIFA said on Tuesday it plans to create a $20 billion subsidiary to run the World Cup and its other events and will offer stakes of up to 20 per cent in it to external investors, a move that provoked a furious response from UEFA, who accused world soccer's governing body of putting the game's "soul" up for sale.

Under the plan, FIFA would establish FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) to oversee "commercial and event operations." 

FIFA, which just held a 48-team World Cup across the U.S., Canada and Mexico that was the biggest in the tournament's history, would retain control of the enterprise, but offer minority stakes in it to private investors to raise up to $4.2 billion.

A vehicle founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, is expected to lead the proposed investor group, FIFA said.

The proposal deepens the divide between Switzerland-based FIFA and European soccer's governing body UEFA, with Europe positioning itself as the custodian of the game while FIFA, a not-for-profit organisation, remains focused on broadening access with financial largesse.

FIFA is one of the world's wealthiest sporting organisations, generating billions of dollars in revenue, largely from broadcasting rights, sponsorship and other commercial deals linked to the World Cup.

But it says this proposal can increase funds it provides to widen access to the sport and strengthen global participation, with all net benefits to be reinvested in the game.

"Football is the world's most popular sport and an extraordinary engine of human and social development," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.

"Parts of the game have turned that popularity into remarkable commercial value – and we