Event Coverage Highlight
FIFA’s Game of Thrones: How Infantino’s $20 Billion Plan to Sell the World Cup Is Upending the World’s Biggest Sport
Nine days after the most lucrative World Cup in history, investigative journalists revealed FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell a 20% stake in a new $20 billion subsidiary controlling the World Cup’s commercial rights, with Joshua Kushner, brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law, as anchor investor. The news sparked what Reuters calls an “unprecedented civil war” in world soccer, including a UEFA boycott threat, high-level resignations, and FIFA’s own chief operating officer saying staff had been “deceived” by “the project of one person.” Within days, the plan was dead.
Will Gianni Infantino’s presidency be next? The global football leader spent the last decade cultivating Vladimir Putin, Qatar, and US President Donald Trump with a “FIFA Peace Prize.” FIFA’s human rights commitments have been ignored as thousands of workers died to deliver the 2022 World Cup, and Saudi Arabia was awarded the flagship tournament for 2034.
November 18 is the deadline for FIFA presidential candidates to submit formal nominations to stand against Infantino. How are reporters covering the fight for control of the world’s biggest sport? Who is lining up for soccer’s top job, and will they continue the federation’s famous legacy of corruption and turmoil?
Join us to hear from leading experts covering FIFA’s current crisis:
Panelists:
Sophia Cai, a White House reporter at POLITICO and co-author of West Wing Playbook, covering the intersection of the Trump administration and FIFA. Her reporting has examined Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital and the emerging field of challengers to Infantino, including Qatari sports executive Nasser al-Khelaifi.
Minky Worden, Director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch, who has led the organization’s reporting on FIFA World Cups in Russia, Qatar and North America. She is a governor of the OPC and a contributor at Forbes, covering FIFA’s human rights record and the 2026 tournament.
Martyn Ziegler, an award-winning journalist at The Times and The Sunday Times focusing on sports governance and the business of sport. He broke the news of Infantino’s private equity plan, leading to its cancelation.
Moderated by OPC Governor Josh Fine, an investigative reporter and producer whose work has appeared on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, CBS News’ 60 Minutes, and ABC’s World News Tonight. Winner of two Overseas Press Club Awards, and 19 Emmys, he is currently a Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton.
