House Judiciary Democrats blasted reports of alleged discussions between President Donald Trump’s administration and FIFA President Gianni Infantino over newly reported plans to sell stakes in the World Cup.
FIFA is seeking to raise up to $4.2 billion in private-sector capital for a new organization that would oversee commercial rights and operational delivery — consolidating all of the money-making branches. Joshua Kushner — the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — has been considered a potential key investor in the proposal, and other figures within Trump’s orbit have been involved, sources told The Times of London, which reported first on the plans.
But Democratic committee members, who this week called on Infantino to appear for an interview regarding an investigation into alleged corruption between FIFA and Trump, said the new program constitutes “more corporate tarnishing of the beautiful game.”
“FIFA, Donald Trump’s favorite corrupt racketeering enterprise in world sports, is now going directly into business with the Trump family!” the Judiciary Democrats’ account wrote in a post on X. “Apparently the fake Peace Prize and giant lease with Trump Tower weren’t enough — now Infantino performs a kickback hat trick by pursuing a multibillion-dollar deal with Jared Kushner’s brother to sell ownership stakes in the World Cup to private investors.”
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The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Infantino and Trump have maintained a close relationship over the years: The FIFA president has made visits to the White House and Mar-a-Lago, and awarded Trump a newly created “FIFA Peace Prize” in December. Trump also presented the World Cup Trophy on July 19 in New Jersey.
The pair sparked controversy during this summer’s World Cup, when U.S. player Folarin Balogun had his one-match ban overturned after Trump made a call to Infantino to review consequences stemming from the player’s red card. The president also reportedly wants to tap Infantino to be the next secretary-general of the United Nations — a decision that would buck an informal tradition of geographically rotating the position, which could next go to someone from Latin America or the Caribbean. Infantino is from Switzerland and is of Italian descent.
Infantino’s proposal would open up a new subsidiary in which select third-party companies could invest. FIFA, which overwhelmingly controls the global soccer network, has approached Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital and is partnering with J.P. Morgan.
Infantino celebrated the plan, saying the funding development “lifts the whole game” by concentrating the commercial side of operations in one place.
But some multinational soccer groups are concerned about the increased push for private investors to fund the sport. The Union of European Football Associations, or UEFA, held an emergency meeting Tuesday and released a statement criticizing Infantino’s plans.
“This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross. UEFA takes it extremely seriously,” UEFA wrote in a statement calling on all “leagues, clubs, players, supporters, governments” to join their opposition to the move.
UEFA nations plan to discuss a World Cup boycott in opposition to FIFA’s proposal, according to Sky News. The organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment on any future deliberations.
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