Venture capitalist Josh Kushner said his company, Thrive Capital, would not have become involved in FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s proposal to sell a stake in the commercial rights to the World Cup to private investors had it known how the plan would unfold.
Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, defended the underlying principle of Infantino’s ill-fated FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal but acknowledged that Thrive had underestimated the complex politics surrounding international football.
Infantino withdrew the proposal in late July after it triggered fierce opposition from UEFA and other key stakeholders in the sport. The plan valued the commercial rights to the World Cup and other FIFA tournaments at $20 billion, raising the prospect of a major overhaul of how the governing body finances and commercializes its competitions.
"While we stand behind the motivations of FFE, we failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football, and the lengths some would go to,” the American billionaire said in a statement Monday.
"Thrive has a long track record of being a partner to all constituents. Had we known what this would devolve into, we would not have gotten involved.”
UEFA last week asked a U.S. federal court for permission to obtain testimony and documents from FIFA entities in Florida for use in a planned criminal complaint in Switzerland against Infantino, according to a court filing.
The filing, seen by Reuters, requests all communications between FIFA, Thrive and other investors and advisers regarding the FFE proposal.
Reuters has contacted FIFA for comment.
Thrive Capital was named by Infantino as the "anchor investor” in the proposal in his letter to FIFA’s 211 member associations in late July.
Although he has apologized for "errors” made during the aborted proposal, Infantino has subsequently defended the concept behind FFE as a vehicle to distribute more money to poorer national football federations.
Kushner echoed those comments in his statement.
"Money in football has historically been concentrated among a small group of countries,” he added.
"The idea behind FFE was to direct more capital and equity equally among all 211 member countries, providing significantly more investment to underdeveloped nations to nurture local talent, support grassroots football, enhance the fan experience and ultimately grow the global game everywhere.
"It was an idea that every member association would vote on, not an obligation or determination.”