Updated

Updated · The Guardian · Aug 27

Uefa Seeks US Evidence for Swiss Criminal Claims Over Infantino's $4.2 Billion Fifa Plan

Updated

Updated · The Guardian · Aug 27

Uefa Seeks US Evidence for Swiss Criminal Claims Over Infantino's $4.2 Billion Fifa Plan

Q: Who were the secret private investors ready to buy into FIFA's $20 billion commercial empire before the plan collapsed?

The only investor publicly identified was Joshua Kushner’s investment vehicle, Thrive Eternal, a subsidiary linked to Thrive Capital. FIFA’s own materials said Thrive Eternal was expected to lead the proposed investor group for FIFA Forward Enterprise, the new subsidiary that would have held the commercial rights and operations for the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup. Beyond Thrive Eternal, the wider group of investors was never publicly disclosed. FIFA said only that it intended to select a “geographically diversified group” of long-term, minority, non-controlling investors. Reporting around the plan repeatedly noted the lack of transparency over who else stood to gain financially, and UEFA’s legal move is aimed in part at uncovering exactly how the investor group was assembled, marketed and structured. J.P. Morgan was involved as an adviser rather than as a disclosed equity investor. Greg Maffei, the former Liberty Media chief executive, was described as a key commercial adviser on the project, not as a named buyer of the stake. So, based on what is publicly known, the secret investors were not fully revealed before the plan collapsed. The only clearly named prospective backer was Thrive Eternal, led by Joshua Kushner.

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 27

Uefa asked a New York federal court to release documents from Fifa and Thrive Capital as it prepares Swiss criminal claims accusing Gianni Infantino and others of criminal mismanagement.
The filing targets Fifa Forward Enterprise, Infantino’s failed plan to sell 20% of Fifa tournaments for $4.2 billion, which Uefa says implied an “absurdly low” enterprise value of about $20 billion.
A Section 1782 request would let Uefa subpoena Joshua Kushner and Thrive for records and depose Kushner, though Uefa says neither he nor Thrive is expected to be a defendant in Switzerland.
Uefa’s lawyers have already ordered Fifa and Infantino to preserve documents from 14 executives, arguing the proposal could have given Infantino’s inner circle a lasting stake in Fifa’s most valuable assets.