FIFA president Gianni Infantino is planning to sell shares in the World Cup to private investors, according to a report by columnist Jonathan McEvoy. Under the scheme, a new company would be created to control the men's and women's World Cups and the Club World Cup.
Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump's in-law Jared Kushner, is lined up to be a major investor, the report said. US bank JPMorgan is also cited as a willing owner.
Infantino would take on the role of "commissioner" of the new World Cup structure once his time as FIFA president ends in 2031, according to the report, with the potential to earn £37.5 million a year, about ten times his current wages.
The report said Infantino is offering FIFA's 211 member associations shares worth £15 million each, which they could then sell on, as he builds support for the plan. He is expected to stand unopposed for re-election as FIFA president.
The scheme has raised the prospect of World Cups being staged more often than every four years, as organisers look to generate more revenue from television rights deals, sponsorship, ticket prices and hospitality sales, the report said.
Trump's intervention
The plan follows a phone call from Donald Trump to Infantino during the recent World Cup, in which Trump intervened to overturn the automatic one match suspension of US striker Folarin Balogun.
Infantino defended the decision, saying: "Potentially mistaken red or yellow cards or subsequent decisions not to ban players in certain situations are routine and widely accepted in some of the biggest leagues worldwide. It's curious that the same countries employing these practices are the ones criticising."
Trump dismissed criticism of his intervention, saying: "I understand sports well." He acknowledged from the Oval Office that he did not know what a red card was or what its suspension implications meant.
Infantino has also previously awarded Trump a peace prize that had never been given before and was described as unlikely to be given again.
This week, Infantino said: "To those behind their pens and papers, behind their screens spreading hate and false rumours, I want to say that while you are sitting behind, we at FIFA are on the front lines organising, working hard, and delivering the best show in the world. We experienced no violence, no incidents, 100 per cent safety and security, only joy and happiness."
