20 million to each federation: FIFA spins off commercial operations into separate company valued at 20 billion dollars
European confederation calls it a line that football institutions should not cross
The International Federation of Association Football on July 28 announced its intention to increase the total amount of funds directed toward football development to more than 10 billion dollars over the next four years — provided the plan receives support from a majority of the 211 member national associations and approval from the FIFA Council. The organization describes it as the largest commitment of its kind ever made by a sports body.
The mechanism around which the entire plan is built is the creation of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a new wholly owned subsidiary of FIFA. It is expected to consolidate the organization’s commercial rights — television, sponsorship, ticketing, and licensing — along with the operational staging of FIFA tournaments in men’s, women’s, and youth football. Later this year, FFE plans to raise up to 4.2 billion dollars based on an initial company valuation of 20 billion by selling minority, non-controlling stakes to carefully selected long-term investors.
What the federations receive
The key element for national associations is the recalibration of the FIFA Forward program. For the 2027–2030 cycle, payments to each federation are proposed to rise from the currently budgeted 8 million dollars to 20 million, to 22 million for 2031–2034, and to 24 million for 2035–2038. In addition, a voluntary FIFA Fast Forward (FFFP) program will be introduced, under which each of the 211 associations can receive a one-time grant of up to 20 million dollars in capital funds for stadiums, national training centers, and other long-term infrastructure that typically falls outside a single development cycle. Participation in FFFP is optional.
For AFFA, as for any other federation, the arithmetic is as follows: instead of the planned 8 million dollars for the 2027–2030 four-year period, up to 40 million dollars if both instruments are fully utilized. It is this calculation, rather than a debate over principles, that will determine the voting outcome.
Who stands behind the deal
Thrive Eternal, a permanent-capital holding company, is expected to lead the group of FFE investors. Greg Maffei, head of BANN Ventures and former president and chief executive of Liberty Media during its acquisition and ownership of Formula 1, serves as the project’s key commercial adviser; he will remain involved in the creation of FFE and at the next stage. J.P. Morgan has been retained to support the process, and OpenEconomics is also working with potential investors. According to FIFA, interest has already been shown by investors from Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa.
The reference to Formula 1 is not coincidental: this precedent — spinning off the commercial activities of a sports series into a separate company with external shareholders — serves as the model for the proposed structure. The release itself notes that many major sports organizations, including continental and national football bodies and leagues, have restructured their commercial operations in a similar manner in recent years.
Infantino’s argument
The process was launched after FIFA President Gianni Infantino addressed the FIFA Council and national associations on the eve of the World Cup final in New York, where he confirmed his intention to “unlock the commercial potential and opportunities that exist within FIFA” — a thesis previously outlined in his speech at the FIFA Congress in Vancouver in April 2026.
“Football is the world’s most popular sport and an outstanding driver of human and social development,” Infantino stated. “Parts of the game have turned this popularity into remarkable commercial value, and we welcome this success and want it to continue because it lifts the entire game. Our task is to ensure that the rest of football grows with it: FIFA exists to support sustainable and inclusive development in every corner of the world.
The next stage of our growth requires a structure built for it — one in which the commercial side of the game operates as a focused, specialized business and the value it creates is distributed more widely and effectively across the world. Every national association must have the opportunity to claim a fair share of available funding to shape its own future, deciding for itself rather than relying on others. This is about the democratization of world football.
We intend to invest significantly even in the smallest and most remote parts of the football world, places that too often remain overlooked. Every national association, regardless of size, resources, or geographic location, will have a voice and the opportunity to chart its own course.”
FIFA emphasizes that it will retain sole control of FFE through a majority on the board of directors and exclusive authority over football governance, competitions, the international match calendar, and all regulatory and sporting decisions. External investors, the release states, will receive only a minority stake, will play no operational role, and are investing in a FIFA subsidiary rather than in FIFA itself: “Nothing changes for FIFA.” All net proceeds of FFE, according to the organization, will be fully reinvested back into football.
UEFA reaction
The European confederation responded the same day — and in language that football diplomacy usually avoids. “This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross. UEFA takes this extremely seriously. So should every national football association. So should all stakeholders: leagues, clubs, players, fans, governments, and everyone who cares about the future of the game. The soul and governance of football are not assets for trading — especially with zero transparency about who stands to gain financially. None of us owns football. It is not FIFA’s property to sell,” UEFA’s statement reads.
The distinction that largely defines the sharpness of the dispute is important here. FIFA’s official release speaks of commercial rights and the operational staging of tournaments. UEFA responded to a report in The Times, according to which Infantino plans to sell stakes in the World Cup itself in a scheme that could lead to the creation of a company controlling FIFA’s most prestigious men’s and women’s tournaments, including the World Cup and the Club World Cup. The Times also claims that “figures close to U.S. President Donald Trump” were involved in the discussions. FIFA did not respond to the publication. According to the newspaper, Infantino is being considered as the future head of this company in the role of commissioner after the end of his presidential term at FIFA.
The 56-year-old Infantino faces re-election next year; if successful, he would remain in office until 2031, after which FIFA statutes require him to step down due to term limits.
What comes next
FIFA stresses that although it usually creates subsidiaries for specific projects unilaterally, in this case — given the strategic importance — it is putting the matter to national associations and the FIFA Council for consideration, and the new structure will be launched only with the support of a majority of associations and the approval of necessary regulatory changes by the Council.
This procedure is the crux of the entire story. The 211 federations each have one vote, and the overwhelming majority of them are small associations for which an increase in payments from 8 million to 20 million dollars represents a qualitative change in capabilities. FIFA’s release directly appeals to this experience, recalling that a decade of growing support through Forward helped debutants such as Cabo Verde and Curaçao reach the World Cup. Opposing the plan, however, is the institutional weight and reputational resources of the European confederation, whose voice in this arithmetic is one of 211.
For federations that belong to UEFA but are not among its financial centers — and this includes most post-Soviet associations, including the Azerbaijani one — the choice is most uncomfortable: between the position of their own confederation and an offer that multiplies development budgets several times over. Neither AFFA nor other associations in the region have yet publicly stated their position.
Sources
FIFA press release, July 28, 2026 — inside.fifa.com
UEFA statement and The Times report (as summarized by ESPN) — espn.com
