Thrive’s Kushner defends involvement in FIFA mess, hires Elon’s go-to lawyer
Thrive Capital founder Josh Kushner has addressed his firm's involvement in a controversial FIFA plan to privatize commercial rights. The proposal, which aimed to create a new corporate entity for FIFA competitions, was abandoned following significant backlash from European and North American soccer associations.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the friction between private equity investment and the governance of global sports organizations, raising questions about corporate influence in international athletics.
New York’s prestigious-yet-secretive venture firm Thrive Capital has been hauled into the center of a messy drama that could result in criminal charges against Gianni Infantino, the controversial president of global soccer organization FIFA.
And now Thrive’s prominent founder, Josh Kushner, has finally spoken up about the deal in a statement saying that he still thinks the original idea was a sound one, and would have been good for global soccer. But, he says, “had we known what this would devolve into, we would not have gotten involved.” (Full statement below.)
The scandal involves Infantino’s failed plan to create a new corporate entity called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) that would have owned some of the commercial aspects of FIFA competitions like the World Cup, including revenues from TV rights and ticket sales.
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