FIFA’s private equity push opens new front in decades-old power-struggle with Europe

MELBOURNE, July 29 : FIFA’s push to open the World Cup to private equity marks a dramatic attempt to reshape the commercial landscape of global soccer, while opening a new front in a long-running battle with Europe for power and control over the massive wealth generated by the sport.

The global governing body led by Gianni Infantino plans to create a $20 billion subsidiary to run the World Cup and other FIFA events, offering stakes of up to 20 per cent to external investors in a move condemned by UEFA as putting the game's "soul" up for sale.

Infantino, who is up for reelection as head of FIFA next year, cast the move as pushing global "democratisation" in the sport by broadening access to its financial largesse.

The proposal offers member associations access to $20 million in immediate funding for special projects and further grants of $20 million and more in subsequent four-year cycles, a huge sweetener for small and emerging soccer nations who rely on FIFA for most of their income.

EUROPEAN RICHES

FIFA already generates billions of dollars in revenue from broadcasting rights, sponsorship and other commercial deals, and is expected to top its $13 billion target for the four-year cycle which finished with the recent World Cup and included last year's Club World Cup.

Yet those figures pale in comparison with the riches generated by European football.

UEFA reported in February that its elite club competitions generated €4.4 billion ($5 billion) in the 2024/25 season alone.

Football competitions across the continent generated more than €40 billion in the same period, with the "Big Five" of the Premier League, Bundesliga, LaLiga, Serie A, and Ligue 1 accounting for just over half of that amount, Deloitte said in its annual review