FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino sparked widespread uproar when they announced the formation of a new entity called the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) that would control the commercial aspects of football’s global governing body.Part of the proposal is to sell a minority stake in the newly-formed company that will effectively run the World Cup, the Club World Cup, and all other events organised by it — a proclamation that drew instant condemnation from the European, Asian and North and Central American footballing confederations.What raised eyebrows even more was that Thrive Eternal, an investment vehicle headed by Joshua Kushner — the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — was “expected to lead the proposed investor group for FFE”.What is FIFA proposing?Infantino has proposed the formation of the FFE — an entity completely controlled by FIFA and governed by Infantino. The entity would gain control of the commercial arm of FIFA events — ticketing, broadcasting, sponsorships and licensing. FIFA then plans to sell up to 21% of that entity to private investors — an admission it had to make through a hasty press release after news of Infantino’s latest brainchild leaked.The intention is to bring in up to $4.2 billion based on an equity valuation of $20 billion, according to FIFA’s own estimates. They then intend to distribute this $4.2 billion immediately among the 211 countries that form FIFA.How can Infantino make this happen?Each of FIFA’s 211 countries, or Member Associations (MAs), stand to gain an immediate $20 million from an initiative the world body intends to start, called FIFA Fast Forward Programme. Each MA currently gets $8 million from FIFA as part of its Forward Funding programme. That number jumps to $20 million for the 2027-30 cycle, $22 million for the 2031-34 cycle and $24 million for the 2035-38 cycle — if the MAs agree to be part of this deal.Will countries accept the deal?Most will. FIFA has bypassed continental football bodies and directly proposed sending money to countries for their backing. Poorer African and Asian countries enjoy voting powers equal to European giants such as England, France and Germany.Story continues below this adAlso Read | No IOC scrutiny for Infantino over Trump’s intervention at FIFA World CupThe money FIFA is offering countries may not be significant for the footballing powerhouses, but FIFA has used the pretext of democratising football to provide an incentive to the rest of the world to back its aim of making more profits, and hand control of the biggest sporting event in the world to private investors.It may be easier for a rich country to say no to $86 million from now till 2038, not so much for a majority of countries affiliated to FIFA.How have continental bodies responded?With surprise and shock. UEFA came out first with a withering response: “The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”The Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF (the association for North and South America, and the Caribbean) expressed surprise and said none of these plans were discussed with them.Story continues below this ad“The AFC was not consulted on the proposal and is disappointed that a matter of such significance entered the public domain before the AFC family had been afforded the opportunity to examine and discuss it through the appropriate and established governance channels,” read a statement on the AFC website.Does FIFA need this money?FIFA had estimated the 2026 World Cup and the current four-year cycle (2023-2026) would bring in $13 billion. It ended up earning $15 billion. Selling off a percentage of the World Cup to private investors could bring in vast swathes of additional money to FIFA. But the real problem lies in who the organisation is planning on selling the World Cup to.Who is FIFA selling the World Cup to?This is where the plan starts to make sense in Infantino’s world. Prominent among the buyers is Thrive Eternal, an investment vehicle founded by controversial venture capitalist Peter Thiel (who also invests in the Enhanced Games). Running the private firm is Joshua Kushner, the brother of US President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.Infantino’s relationship with TrumpThe FIFA president’s relationship with Trump has been unusually close. Story continues below this adInfantino conjured up a “FIFA Peace Prize” for Trump, who had spent years bemoaning that he had not got the Nobel Peace Prize. Also Read | FIFA, the White House and a Red Card that isn’t: Just give Trump the first prize alreadyThe cosy ties between Infantino and Trump came in for more criticism when the latter personally petitioned for US forward Falorin Balogun’s red card to be rescinded so that he could play in a knockout game against Belgium.Now that closeness has tied into a financial deal, indirectly, with the Trump clan. Even the disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter was unequivocal in his contempt.“The close relationship between the FIFA President and the US President has reached a financial dimension that is deeply damaging (to) football. No one has the right to sell our game,” said Blatter.