FIFA is proposing to move the commercial and event operations of its tournaments, the World Cup included, into a new subsidiary and sell a fifth of it to private investors. Thrive Capital would lead the investment, with J.P. Morgan running the fundraising. The proceeds would be distributed among the 211 member associations, structured as an initial 20 million dollars on approval and three further payments running to 2038.
Set out plainly, the offer is that each association votes on a governance change and receives money on a schedule that depends on the vote passing. FIFA's president has set a deadline of 19 September, with access to as much as 40 million dollars per association attached. Whatever the merits of the underlying transaction, tying the payment to the decision is what has made this a governance story rather than a financing one.
UEFA has reacted badly, citing a lack of consultation, and options as far as a World Cup boycott have been discussed. That threat is more credible than it sounds, because the value being sold is largely the participation of the confederations. A tournament without European teams is not the asset the investors are pricing.
The structural question is what a minority investor with a 20 percent economic interest actually buys in a body that is formally a members' association. Private capital does not usually accept a position with no influence over scheduling, format or commercial policy, and each of those is exactly what national federations believe they control. Any answer that satisfies the investors moves power away from the members who are being asked to approve it.
For France the stake is concrete rather than theoretical. The federation has just appointed a new national coach and is planning against a calendar that this deal could reshape, and it will vote with the rest in September.