FIFA’s controversial plan to sell a piece of its business empire to outside investors has collapsed following an open revolt by soccer officials worldwide — and a major rift among top FIFA executives, The Post has learned. FIFA had aimed to raise up to $4.2 billion by selling a roughly 20 percent stake in the group, valuing the new arm at $20 billion.
The deal, which involved a firm run by New York venture capitalist Joshua Kushner, is dead, four sources familiar with the matter said. “They are not the feeling this. There is no way they want to continue to be involved in this mess,” said a source briefed on the collapsed deal. “Kushner will figure out another way to get involved in this space.
This is becoming a brand nightmare.” Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, the White House diplomatic adviser and son-in-law of Donald Trump The unraveling caps a brutal week for FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who pushed the plan to spin off FIFA’s commercial rights into a new for-profit arm that drew howls of protest across Europe and a slew of overwhelmingly negative media coverage. The failed proposal called for FIFA, a nonprofit
under Swiss law, to transfer its cash-making assets — TV rights, sponsor deals, licensing, and ticketing — into a new entity called FIFA Forward Enterprise.
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