UEFA seeks independent valuation over FIFA World Cup sale controversy

UEFA is preparing to commission an independent valuation of FIFA’s proposed World Cup-related commercial sale after concerns that president Gianni Infantino may have agreed to sell future tournament profits to a private equity firm below market value.

The European governing body remains unmoved by the written apology issued by Infantino to FIFA’s 211 member associations on Tuesday following crisis talks in Morocco. UEFA intends to continue pushing for his removal, with its strategy including deeper scrutiny of a proposal the FIFA president later acknowledged was “a mistake”, according to the Guardian.

The abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise plan, which was withdrawn after four days last week, involved selling a 21% stake to Thrive Capital for $4.2 billion. The firm is led by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, who is the son-in-law of Donald Trump.

UEFA played a central role in forcing FIFA’s U-turn. The reversal came after all 55 UEFA member associations threatened to boycott the World Cup and other tournaments. UEFA is now seeking clarity on how FIFA arrived at a reported $20 billion valuation of its commercial assets.

The organisation has already consulted several market analysts to gather preliminary opinions on the valuation and is expected to commission a formal independent study once the immediate uncertainty surrounding Infantino’s position subsides.

According to details circulated in FIFA’s sales presentation last week, there was no explanation of the valuation methodology and no indication that a competitive tender process had taken place.

“We need to find out if they were selling the World Cup at a knockdown price,” a source familiar with UEFA’s plans said. “How did they get to $20bn? Was it a robust process?”

FIFA generated approximately $15 billion in revenue during the four-year cycle culminating in this summer’s World Cup, prompting some market analysts to suggest that a $20 billion valuation may have significantly undervalued the organisation’s commercial potential.

By Tamilla Hasanova