NYON, Switzerland — In the corridors of European football’s governing body, the mood is one of deep unease. Against the backdrop of a proposal that would inject $20 billion of private investment into FIFA’s flagship events, UEFA has reacted with fury, branding the plan a direct threat to the sport’s governance.
The proposal, which envisions a $20 billion private investment fund, drew a sharply worded statement from UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin on December 13, 2024. Čeferin, a Slovenian lawyer who took office in September 2016, called the plan “dangerous” and a “direct attack on the governance of football.” The statement came as UEFA, the wealthiest of FIFA’s six confederations, weighed what is at stake for its 55 national associations — among them European powerhouses Germany, England, France, Italy, and Spain.
Revenue and the Champions League
UEFA’s financial heft is considerable. In the 2022-23 season, the Champions League generated €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion) in revenue, driven primarily by broadcast and sponsorship deals. That income underpins the flow of payments to European clubs, who currently receive significant sums from FIFA for releasing players to participate in the World Cup.
During the 2018 World Cup in Russia, FIFA disbursed $209 million to clubs through its Club Benefits Programme. Under the proposed fund, those payments could be restructured or reduced.
UEFA’s opposition is rooted in fears that the fund would divert revenue away from European clubs, which have long been the financial engine of global football.
The Kushner connection and sovereign wealth funds
UEFA has also objected to the involvement of Jared Kushner, whose firm Affinity Partners received a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). The organization argues that sovereign wealth funds should not control football’s flagship events. The wider picture, from a European perspective, is one of concern over external influence on the sport’s commercial and competitive structure.
This is not the first time UEFA has pushed back against a major breakaway proposal. In 2021, it opposed the aborted European Super League, a competition backed by 12 top clubs, on similar grounds of protecting the sport’s integrity.
That episode, much like the current standoff, drew sharp lines between governing bodies and private interests.
Čeferin’s call for reform
Čeferin has called on FIFA to abandon the proposal and instead focus on reforming its own governance. That call comes against the backdrop of FIFA’s troubled recent history: the 2015 corruption scandal, which led to the indictment of several FIFA officials by the U.S. Department of Justice, continues to cast a long shadow over the organization’s credibility. In the corridors of European football, the debate is far from over.
The UEFA Congress, scheduled for April 2025 in Belgrade, Serbia, was expected to include discussions on countermeasures against the FIFA fund. Though the congress has now passed, the underlying tensions remain unresolved as the world of football watches which direction the governing bodies will take.
