00:00Gianni Infantino will be in Colombia for the presidential inauguration of Abelardo de la Espriella.
00:05Regarding his presence in the country, here we explain what all the fuss was about.
00:10She was in the eye of the storm for the past week. Days after collapsing in her
00:15an attempt to revive the FIFA Forward Enterprise project, a company that aimed
00:21to market the rights to the main tournaments and increase the organization's revenue,
00:26According to Infantino, this is to help develop football worldwide. An objective it is already achieving.
00:31FIFA Forward, a program, mind you, not a company, that has been operating since 2016 to distribute revenue
00:38of FIFA among its 211 member federations. All in pursuit of supporting infrastructure,
00:44the leagues, the refereeing, and almost everything that can help to promote the sport in those countries.
00:49If that sounds so nice, then why was this initiative so controversial?
00:54Infantino's idea was to sell 20% of that company to private investors in order to
01:00to increase FIFA's profits. The most widely cited estimate is $10 billion.
01:0620 billion. Among those most interested in this plan, from the commercial side, was Thrive Capital.
01:12a venture capital firm run by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner,
01:17advisor and son-in-law of the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
01:20Why did the FIFA president's business collapse? First, a large part of the confederations
01:26Member continentals vehemently expressed their repulsion to the initiative, starting with UEFA,
01:32which today casts doubt on Gianni Infantino's re-election in 2027. Second, the negative reaction
01:38Much of the football aspect led Thrive Capital to withdraw. They don't like any of it.
01:43They have no intention of remaining involved in this mess. Kushner will find another way to participate.
01:49in this sector. This is turning into a nightmare for the brand, a source told
01:54New York Post. And third, still the majority of the people who decide the future of this sport
02:00They remain uninterested in the intention to privatize football with companies outside the industry.
02:05And more importantly, to the essence of this passion of millions. It's clear that Infantino was left in the
02:11canvas after losing the battle to sell FIFA's commercial rights. And perhaps,
02:16Or perhaps, their presence in Colombia can be explained, to some extent, by their intention
02:21for seeking clear and public support for a new term at the head of world football.
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