FIFA president Gianni Infantino has enlisted former Liberty Media executive Greg Maffei to advise on a proposal to sell private investors an approximately 20 per cent stake in a new company intended to manage the World Cup’s commercial and media rights after the 2026 tournament. FIFA would retain the remaining 80 per cent and majority control, but the project has already encountered opposition from more than 100 of its 211 member federations.
The resistance includes warnings that the dispute could ultimately lead to a boycott of the 2030 World Cup. FIFA nevertheless has support from JPMorgan Chase, Joshua Kushner and Maffei, whose involvement establishes an unexpected link between football’s biggest competition and Formula 1’s commercial development under Liberty Media.
Why FIFA chose Greg Maffei for its World Cup plan
Maffei currently serves as a commercial adviser to the project. He is a familiar figure to Formula 1 followers after serving as Liberty Media chairman when the company acquired the championship’s commercial rights, giving him experience with the ownership and development of a major international sporting property.
That background is central to FIFA’s decision to involve him. Maffei played an important part in the Liberty Media era and the subsequent growth of Formula 1 as a global business. The same period also brought a broader effort to develop F1 as a consumer-focused entertainment product.
Under FIFA’s proposal, interested investors have until 19 September to submit their offers. The objective is to create a company responsible for the World Cup’s media and commercial rights, with private shareholders controlling about one-fifth of the business while FIFA preserves authority through its 80 per cent holding.
Each national federation would receive an upfront payment of $20 million, followed by additional funding over four years. The investment initiative comes alongside Infantino’s ambition to hold the World Cup every two years rather than maintaining its traditional four-year cycle.
UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC oppose the FIFA proposal
UEFA stated the previous day that its 55 member associations could refuse to participate if private investors were allowed to acquire the rights. Such a collective withdrawal would amount to a complete boycott and could place the 2030 World Cup in jeopardy.
CONCACAF, representing North and Central America and the Caribbean, has also opposed Infantino’s plan, as has the Asian Football Confederation. Taken together, more than 100 of FIFA’s 211 affiliated federations are against the proposed privatisation.
The scale of the resistance has prompted comparisons with the failed Super League project. Maffei, however, rejected that parallel in comments to the Financial Times, maintaining that FIFA’s proposal represented the opposite model because all 211 member federations would retain a voice and the governing body would remain the majority owner.
Greg Maffei insists the World Cup itself is not being sold
The former TripAdvisor and Liberty Media chief emphasised that the plan should not be interpreted as a sale of the World Cup. In his assessment, FIFA’s continued majority holding would preserve its control while allowing outside investors to acquire a minority position in the company responsible for commercial and broadcasting operations.
Despite that defence, numerous federations remain prepared to threaten a boycott of the 2030 tournament if the project proceeds. The debate therefore places one of the figures credited with helping revive Formula 1 at the centre of a potentially historic change to football’s most important competition.
The FIFA assignment also gives Maffei another prominent sporting business role following his departure from Liberty Media and comments about Formula 1’s future. Whether the commercial experience gained in F1 can overcome the opposition within international football will now become a decisive question for Infantino’s proposal.
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