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Trump's Soccer Suck-Up Humiliated as Cash Grab Collapses

The Daily Beast · back to the audit
BALLS!

The proposed deal involving a firm led by Jared Kushner's younger brother unraveled after fierce backlash and boycott threats from soccer's regional governing bodies.

FIFA has abandoned a widely criticized plan to sell a stake in the World Cup's commercial operations after worldwide outrage over a proposal tied to President Donald Trump's inner circle.

Trump pal and FIFA president Gianni Infantino revealed earlier this week that the organization planned to sell a 21 percent stake to private investors in a newly created entity—FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE)—to manage the commercial operations of top events, including the World Cup. He claimed FFE was worth $20 billion. The FFE investor group was reportedly set to be headed by a firm run by New York venture capitalist Joshua Kushner, younger brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

But the scheme was so controversial among soccer organizations, officials, and fans that it has officially been killed, sources told the New York Post.

"Kushner will figure out another way to get involved in this space. This is becoming a brand nightmare," a source told the newspaper.

After the Post report, Infantino confirmed to Sky News that the deal is no more. It "has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place," he said. "As a result, this proposal will not proceed."

Trump told reporters he was unaware of FIFA's private investor plan.

The deal began to cave when UEFA, the governing body of European soccer's 55-member organization, voted unanimously on Thursday to boycott all games organized by FIFA, including the World Cup, if the scheme went ahead.

"The World Cup is not for sale," UEFA said in a statement after the vote.

"The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of football's greatest sporting legacies. It has been built over generations by players, national teams, and supporters across every continent. No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors."

Ties between Trump and the current FIFA president remain close. Infantino was widely lambasted after he presented Trump with the organization's first "peace prize" last year, months before the president ordered the abduction of Venezuela's president and invaded Iran.