FIFA proposes $20 billion commercial arm as UEFA raises governance concerns

FIFA is planning to establish a new commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion as the global football governing body seeks to increase earnings from its competitions and expand financial support for football federations worldwide.

The proposed entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), will bring together FIFA’s commercial operations, including broadcast rights, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing, alongside the operational delivery of its tournaments.

According to FIFA, the initiative is designed to “unlock the full potential” of its commercial rights portfolio across men’s, women’s and youth competitions while creating a structure capable of generating more revenue for investment into football development.

The proposal, which is subject to approval from a majority of FIFA’s 211 Member Associations (MAs) and the FIFA Council, comes after FIFA reported record commercial returns from the 2026 World Cup cycle.

FIFA estimates that it generated about $15 billion from the latest World Cup cycle, compared with approximately $7.6 billion from the previous cycle.

FIFA’s plan to increase football development funding

A major part of the proposal is the expansion of FIFA’s flagship development programme, FIFA Forward.

FIFA said the new structure could increase funding available to each Member Association from the current $8 million allocation to $20 million for the 2027-2030 cycle.

• The governing body added that funding could rise further to $22 million per association between 2031 and 2034 and $24 million between 2035 and 2038.
• In addition, FIFA is proposing the FIFA Fast Forward Programme (FFFP), which would allow each of its 211 Member Associations to access up to $20 million in one-off funding for major projects.

According to FIFA, the additional funding could support projects such as stadiums, national…