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Fifa scraps plan to sell stake in World Cup amid investor backlash
The BBC reports investor-backed efforts to commercialize the tournament were aimed at protecting sports from AI disruption, while FIFA faced calls for its president, Gianni Infantino, to step down.
FIFA has been forced to reverse plans to sell off a minority slice of the World Cup after strong opposition, including threats of future boycotts, and growing pressure for its president, Gianni Infantino, to quit, according to BBC Business.
The broadcaster says the proposal, known as Forward Enterprise (FFE), was linked to talks involving investors led by Thrive Eternal, a spin off of venture capital firm Thrive Capital, which created the investment arm in April to target areas viewed as having qualities that technology cannot replicate.
BBC Business reports that Thrive Eternal is run by Joshua Kushner and that the firm saw the World Cup as a test case for its strategy that sport can both endure the AI era and grow in value, with the tradition, cultural and identity aspects of football cited as key to that view.
The outlet also notes that Thrive Eternal was launched with an agreement to buy a chunk of the San Francisco Giants, and it has been linked to interest in bidding for a new BA franchise in Las Vegas, while a professor in sports management said commercialization decisions are increasingly being shaped by Wall Street and Silicon Valley.