Joshua Kushner, the venture capitalist brother of Jared Kushner, has publicly voiced regret over his role in a now-scrapped plan by Fifa president Gianni Infantino to sell private investment stakes in the World Cup.
Kushner, who founded and leads Thrive Capital, had reportedly engaged in discussions with Infantino about spearheading a $4.2 billion investment covering a 20 percent stake in a planned new Fifa commercial arm known as Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE). The proposal, however, unraveled rapidly after details emerged publicly, triggering fierce opposition from within European football. Uefa threatened to boycott the World Cup and other Fifa-run competitions in response, forcing Fifa to abandon the plan within days of it becoming known.
The fallout has not fully subsided. Uefa is reportedly preparing to file a criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland, accusing him of "criminal mismanagement." As part of that effort, Uefa has petitioned a court in New York to authorize subpoenas compelling both Kushner and Thrive Capital to provide testimony and hand over relevant documents.
Breaking his silence on the episode, Kushner issued a statement defending the original intent behind FFE while acknowledging he had misjudged the reaction it would provoke. He explained that football finances have long been skewed toward a handful of wealthy nations, and that the initiative was designed to spread capital more evenly across all 211 of Fifa's member associations.
"The idea behind FFE was to direct more capital and equity equally amongst 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," Kushner said. He stressed that the plan would have required approval from each member association rather than being imposed as a mandate: "It was an idea that every Member Association would vote on, not an obligation or determination."
Despite standing by the underlying goals of the scheme, Kushner admitted he failed to grasp how contentious it would become within football's political landscape. "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," he said. He added that Thrive Capital has historically sought to work cooperatively with all parties involved in its ventures, concluding: "Had we known what this would devolve into, we would not have gotten involved."
Before the plan was shelved, Fifa had indicated that Thrive was positioned to lead the group of investors behind FFE. The governing body suggested the arrangement could have boosted funding distributed to individual national associations for the 2027-2030 cycle, raising the figure from roughly £5.9 million to £14.7 million per association.
Uefa's decision to halt its threatened boycott came only after it said it had secured "assurances" that Fifa would not revisit similar stake-selling proposals for its competitions in the future. Nonetheless, the prospect of legal action against Infantino suggests the controversy is far from resolved, with scrutiny now extending to Kushner's own dealings with football's governing body.
While distancing himself from the fallout of the FFE plan, Kushner remains active in major sports investment. He recently completed a record-breaking $12.5 billion deal to acquire the Los Angeles Lakers, underscoring his continued prominence in global sports business even as his brief venture into football finance ends in controversy.
Based on reporting from The Independent.