Joshua Kushner blames ‘political dynamics’ for collapse of plan to sell World Cup stakes
Investor and brother of Trump’s son-in-law says he ‘would not have gotten involved’ had he anticipated the level of backlash to privatizing FIFA events
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NEW YORK — Investor Joshua Kushner on Monday blamed power struggles within global soccer for the outrage over FIFA’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup, admitting his firm “would not have gotten involved” if it had anticipated the backlash.
The first comments by venture capitalist Kushner — the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared — since the plan collapsed come as European governing body UEFA prepares a criminal case against FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
“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,” said Kushner, in a statement emailed to AFP.
“Had we known what this would devolve into, we would not have gotten involved,” added Kushner, whose firm Thrive Capital worked on the deal in private for months, and would have spearheaded the investment process.
FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) was a plan to bring private investment into FIFA events, including the World Cup, by selling stakes in a new $20 billion commercial subsidiary. FIFA said the proposal would have raised $4.2 billion to benefit poorer soccer-playing nations, and that member associations could have voted to reject it.
Critics said the plan had been hatched in secret to profit its investors, with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin dubbing the proposal a “shady, opaque backroom deal.”
UEFA has called for Infantino’s removal, and accused the FIFA president of “criminal mismanagement.”
According to legal documents seen by AFP, UEFA is gathering evidence for a potential criminal complaint in Switzerland, where both UEFA and FIFA are based.
US media has reported Kushner is being targeted for subpoenas, with UEFA asking a New York judge for permission to demand Kushner and his firm hand over documents and sit for depositions related to the saga. Kushner and Thrive are not expected to be defendants in the UEFA case and have not been accused of wrongdoing.
“Money in football has historically been concentrated amongst a small group of countries,” said Kushner’s statement.
“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,” he continued. “It was an idea that every Member Association would vote on, not an obligation or determination.”
He added: “Thrive has a long track record of being a partner to all constituents.”
Kushner is also a key investor in the ongoing, record $12.5 billion purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most successful teams in NBA history.
The Times of Israel Community.