The Reuters-reported FIFA World Cup stake sale is dead, at least for now. FIFA has reversed course on its FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal after a revolt from member associations, boycott threats, and calls for president Gianni Infantino to resign. But the episode tells us something durable about where serious money thinks the future of sport lies.
Why Thrive Eternal Saw Football as AI-Proof
Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital, which manages roughly $25 billion in assets according to Forbes, has built its reputation backing technology companies. It is a major investor in OpenAI. So when Thrive launched a new investment arm, Thrive Eternal, in April 2026, specifically to avoid technology, that was a statement worth taking seriously.
The thesis is straightforward: AI will hollow out entertainment. Films, music, digital content, the technology is already displacing human creators. But sport, the argument goes, is structurally different. The tribalism, the shared identity, the unpredictability of live competition, these resist replication. Thrive Eternal’s own website describes “iconic franchises and cultural institutions rooted in tradition, identity, and shared experience” as assets that will not merely survive the AI era but appreciate through it.
Professor Simon Chadwick, who has worked across the global sports industry for 30 years with clubs, fan groups, and governing bodies including FIFA and UEFA, frames it bluntly. A lot of decisions about football are now being made on behalf of fans “in Wall Street and Silicon Valley”, he told the BBC. “It is almost as though it’s crept up on us and a lot of people haven’t really thought about what’s happening.”
To staff the new vehicle, Thrive moved quickly. Bob Iger rejoined as an adviser on 23 April 2026, one day before the firm announced its first sports investment, according to Bloomberg as cited by Forbes. Former Liberty Media boss Greg Maffei, who oversaw the acquisition of Formula 1’s commercial rights, was brought in for the FIFA discussions.
The FIFA World Cup Stake Sale: What the Numbers Actually Say
Under the FFE proposal, the Thrive-led group was expected to acquire approximately 21% of a new entity built around the World Cup, paying $4.2 billion against a $20 billion valuation that JPMorgan Chase helped underpin, per Reuters. A source close to Thrive told the BBC investors were prepared to wait “decades” for a return, given Thrive Eternal’s structure as a holding company rather than a typical fund seeking rapid exits.
Two figures for what each of FIFA’s 211 member associations would have received appear in the record, and they conflict. A source close to Thrive cited a potential equity stake worth as much as $91 million per association based on the $20 billion valuation. FIFA’s own media release states the figure differently: each association would have been offered access to up to $20 million in one-off capital. FIFA’s official figure is the authoritative one here; the $91 million appears to reflect a separate equity-valuation calculation put forward by those advocating for the deal.
The Athletic reported that as much as $2.7 billion was already budgeted for FIFA’s Forward programme in the 2027–30 cycle before the FFE proposal was even tabled. That context makes Christina Philippou’s position harder to dismiss. Philippou, associate professor in accounting and sport finance at the University of Portsmouth, said FIFA was not in a position where it needed outside money. “Fifa are not in a position where they are desperate for money. In fact, they could very easily, with the money they already have, increase those payouts to the member associations. So there is no need to go external.”
FIFA’s stated rationale, that the World Cup is “under-monetised,” sits uneasily alongside a tournament already on track to generate record revenues from broadcast rights, sponsorship, and dynamic ticket pricing. The 48-team format alone expands the commercial footprint. A future 64-team competition would expand it further. More countries mean more viewers, which means more money, with or without private equity.
Sport as an Asset Class Is Not Going Away
Thrive Eternal’s first confirmed move was a sub-10% stake in the San Francisco Giants, according to Sports Business Journal, involving both primary and secondary purchases. Neither existing institutional investor sold down their position. Sportcal reported Forbes valued the Giants at $4.05 billion at the start of the 2026 season, fifth-most valuable in Major League Baseball.
Reports also suggest Thrive is considering a bid for a new NFL franchise in Las Vegas. The direction of travel is consistent: buy into scarcity. Live sport, unlike a film studio or a record label, cannot be automated away.
Professor Chadwick put it plainly: “Whether people like it or not, private equity investment in sport is happening.” The FIFA proposal collapsed under governance pressure. But Thrive Eternal’s underlying conviction about sport’s resistance to AI disruption has not changed, and the next approach, from Thrive or from a rival, will not be long in coming. The question for FIFA’s member associations is whether they will have a coherent answer ready when it does.
