What Is UEFA Looking For?
The court filing claims documents held by FIFA could provide answers as to whether the FIFA president’s price for selling 20% of the World Cup—$4.2 billion—was accurate or “a fraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit.” It also claims Infantino “unilaterally designated” Thrive as the lead investor, and pushed the plan through internally after a “hastily convened meeting where a limited number of FIFA’s management officials and employees—some of whom had never heard of the plan—were given mere hours to sign off on an unprecedented multi-billion dollar scheme.” UEFA’s filing also criticized the $20 billion valuation for the World Cup as “absurdly low,” calling it a “figure that was neither the product of an open, competitive auction, nor tested by any independent valuer.” Later in the filing, lawyers for UEFA specifically request the valuation work, diligence material from any advisers, documents related to the internal approval process and “agreements, term sheets, and transaction documents” related to the deal. Thrive declined to comment when reached by Forbes, and BANN did not immediately return a request for comment.
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Contra
In Thursday’s filing, UEFA said Infantino’s conduct rises to “the level of criminal mismanagement.” However, it also notes Swiss law does not require UEFA to determine the likelihood of success its criminal case would have beforehand.
Key Background
Infantino unveiled his plan to sell minority stakes in the World Cup in July, just weeks after FIFA finished the 2026 World Cup in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Infantino’s plan would have sold 20% of a new commercial enterprise that would control its “commercial and event operations” to a group of investors, with Thrive serving as the lead investor. However, the deal faced immediate backlash, with UEFA emerging as the strongest confederation criticizing the plan. UEFA and its 55 member nations in Europe threatened to boycott FIFA events moving forward, and Infantino quickly backed away from the proposal just days after the announcement. Infantino continues to face scrutiny and criticism since the deal blew up, with UEFA leadership still insisting the organization has “no confidence” in the FIFA president’s leadership after the debacle.
Forbes Valuation
We estimate Josh Kushner’s net worth at $16.7 billion. Kushner is the son of New Jersey real estate developer and current U.S. ambassador to France Charles Kushner, as well as the brother of Jared Kushner, a fellow billionaire and the husband of Ivanka Trump. Thrive, Josh’s investment fund, has recently moved to invest in other major sports franchises, first purchasing a minority stake in the San Francisco Giants in April. Kushner was also one of a group of investors that purchased an ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers for a record $12.5 billion earlier this month.
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Further Reading
ForbesJosh Kushner’s Fortune Tripled This Year Thanks To Stakes In OpenAI, SpaceX And MoreBy Giacomo TogniniForbesFIFA’s Infantino Scrambles To Save Job After World Cup Equity Plan BackfiresBy Mary Whitfill Roeloffs