FIFA has a new plan to raise billions of dollars: Selling stakes in the World Cup

The proposal to spin off the commercial rights to the World Cup and other competitions into a semi-private company has triggered a fierce backlash, with critics warning it could create conflicts between investors' profit motives and FIFA's role as the sport's regulator. The proposal immediately drew fierce ⁠criticism from European governing body UEFA, which said it "crosses a line that football's governing institutions should never cross." Football's world governing body announces plans to sell stakes of up to 20 percent in the World Cup and other events.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino earns more criticism after unveiling a brazen plan to "unleash the commercial potential" of the World Cup. FIFA has a complex plan to sell chunks of its commercial rights to the World Cup to minority investors, including a firm run by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner.(Image credit: Carl Recine)