Democrats smell blood.

FIFA is going into business with a Kushner. Democrats smell blood.

Gianni Infantino's plan to sell World Cup stakes to Joshua Kushner's investment fund has Europe’s soccer elite in open revolt and House Democrats circling.

By Sophia Cai

Gianni Infantino’s political future may be on the U.S. midterm ballot.

For years, FIFA’s president has nurtured one of the closest relationships between any world leader and President Donald Trump, links that helped turn this summer’s World Cup into a logistical and financial success for soccer’s governing body.

But if control of Congress flips this fall, those same ties could become a political liability for Infantino as he seeks reelection atop the Swiss-based nonprofit he has led for a decade.

The House Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat has said he intends to use his party’s majority to probe FIFA’s political machinations in Washington and ticket-pricing policies that critics have called opaque and exploitative.In a letter this week, Rep. Jamie Raskin, the committee’s ranking Democrat, requested information including a list of gifts provided to Trump, communications concerning Justice Department matters, and visitor logs for FIFA’s Miami headquarters and Trump Tower office.

Raskin and his fellow Democrats would gain the power to demand those records — and potentially compel Infantino’s testimony — if they win a House majority. FIFA is likely to be just one of many such targets for Democrats probing Trump allies who built up their political careers and business fortunes during his terms in office.

In Infantino’s case, the timing of the Nov. 3 election is especially inopportune. It comes two weeks before potential challengers to Infantino would have to declare their candidacies in a presidential election decided next March by a vote of FIFA’s 211 member countries.

“The perfect-storm scenario in FIFA world,” said one person involved at the highest levels of global soccer, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal politics. “I think they will find a candidate to run against him, especially if midterms flip control and if things were to start pouring out. But a lot needs to happen in the next four to five months.”

Internal opponents critical of Infantino’s efforts to ingratiate himself to political leaders, especially in the United States and Middle East, were given new reason for concern on Tuesday. The Times of London reported that Infantino is pursuing a plan to sell stakes in FIFA’s World Cup competitions, with an investment fund led by Joshua Kushner, the brother-in-law of Trump’s daughter Ivanka, intent on recruiting sovereign wealth funds to contribute.

“FIFA, Donald Trump’s favorite corrupt racketeering enterprise in world sports, is now going directly into business with the Trump family!” Raskin said in a statement to POLITICO. “Apparently the fake Peace Prize and giant lease with Trump Tower weren’t enough — now Infantino performs a kickback hat trick by pursuing a multibillion-dollar deal with Jared Kushner’s brother to sell ownership stakes in the World Cup to private investors.”FIFA and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Infantino first encountered Trump nearly a decade ago, as the newly elected president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner threw the White House’s support behind a joint bid by the U.S., Mexico and Canada to host the World Cup. Afterwards, Infantino began appearing regularly at Trump’s side as FIFA rented office space in Trump Tower and awarded FIFA’s inaugural “peace prize” to Trump.

During the World Cup, the relationship between Infantino and Trump began to shape every aspect of the game. When Trump asked Infantino to review a red-card suspension issued to the U.S.’ leading goal-scorer, Infantino heard Trump’s complaints and FIFA later dropped the one-match ban. During the final match, Trump also looked past the North American heads of government standing beside him to lavish attention on Infantino.

Now Infantino is poised to deepen his financial ties to the Trump family, as well. The proposal to sell shares in the World Cup would rely heavily on Thrive Capital, the venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

On Tuesday, FIFA announced that it wants to separate its commercial operations from its governing body — a model inspired in part by Formula One. Thrive Eternal, the firm’s long-duration investment vehicle, has agreed to backstop FIFA’s effort to find investors, which is expected to be run by JP Morgan.

“Our next stage of growth needs a structure built for it, one where the commercial side of the game operates as a focused, dedicated business, with its value shared more and better all around the world,” Infantino said in a statement.

Kushner is investing through Thrive Eternal, which is betting that live sporting events will be an even hotter ticket in an AI-driven world. It plans to leverage its own investment by courting long-term institutional investors from around the world, according to a person with direct knowledge of the firm’s thinking, relying principally on sovereign wealth funds.

Already, Jared Kushner’s investment firm, Affinity Partners, has drawn congressional scrutiny for raising billions of dollars from foreign sovereign wealth funds — including those controlled by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar — as he leads U.S. diplomatic negotiations with those governments. The Kushner brothers operate separate businesses.

The investment proposal has ignited a backlash within global soccer. UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, issued its strongest public rebuke yet of Infantino’s leadership, encouraging other confederations and national federations to speak up against Infantino.

“This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross,” UEFA said in a statement. “UEFA takes it extremely seriously. So should every national football association. So should every stakeholder: leagues, clubs, players, supporters, governments, and everyone who cares about the future of the game. The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are owners of football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”

Infantino has spent nearly a decade consolidating support among FIFA’s 211 member associations through expanded development funding and greater financial distributions. Under the latest plans reported by The Times, each federation would receive an ownership stake under the proposed investment structure, potentially worth around $20 million, creating another financial incentive for members to support the plan.

Joshua Kushner’s belief that global sports properties are durable assets in an increasingly AI-driven economy has helped shape discussions with Infantino, whom Kushner has known for years, according to the person familiar with the firm’s thinking. The proposal would consolidate FIFA’s media rights, sponsorships, ticketing, hospitality, licensing and other commercial operations into a new subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise, while leaving FIFA’s nonprofit governing structure intact. FIFA plans to name an interim leader for FIFA Forward Enterprise, which will be governed by a board of directors.Infantino has recorded a video message outlining the proposal and making the case for the new commercial structure, which will be sent to the 211 national member association that will vote on the proposal. If the plan were approved, participation in FIFA Forward Enterprise would be voluntary, with each federation that chooses to join receiving a $20 million stake in the new new subsidiary.

Over the weekend, Infantino published an unusually combative 15-slide Instagram post accusing critics of “spreading hate and false rumors” while FIFA was “delivering the best show in the world” — a striking departure for a president whose social media accounts typically feature celebratory images with world leaders, football stars and trophy ceremonies.

Infantino has already drawn opposition from European parliamentarians, who have alleged that he violated the football federation’s own political neutrality rules through his relationship with Trump.

“The World Cup belongs to the federations, the fans, the athletes, and the communities that view soccer as a social and cultural heritage — not to investment funds,” said Carolina Morace, a retired Italian soccer star who now serves as a member of European Parliament. “Sport cannot be governed by the logic of the financial markets. Merit, not business, must be at the heart of sport."Interest from U.S. politicians in the internal workings of FIFA has been rare. In 2015, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing “examining the governance and integrity of international soccer” after several FIFA officials, including Infantino’s predecessor as president, were indicted by the U.S. Justice Department on corruption charges. No one from FIFA testified at the hearing, which had bipartisan interest from committee members.

In the run-up to this year’s World Cup, political attitudes towards the sports body polarized on partisan lines, with Democrats emerging as critics of the reluctance of FIFA’s leadership to push back on Trump administration policies that could affect the tournament. Most prominent Democrats quieted their criticism during the World Cup, but some have picked up again since its conclusion on July 19.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have since launched an investigation into FIFA’s relationship with Trump and its ticketing policy, but without a majority have few legal tools to secure records or interviews with key officials.

Serving a subpoena on the head of an international sports federation presents practical challenges. House subpoenas generally must be served in person, and U.S. marshals lack authority to serve them overseas. But that does not necessarily place Infantino beyond Congress’ reach.

FIFA has dramatically expanded its U.S. footprint ahead of a decade packed with major international tournaments. The organization plans to maintain its Miami headquarters as its Americas hub through next year’s centennial World Cup, the soccer tournament at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the 2031 Women’s World Cup, giving lawmakers multiple opportunities should Infantino travel to the United States.

Congress has encountered similar obstacles before. During the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation into workplace misconduct within the Washington Commanders, then-owner Dan Snyder initially sought to avoid congressional testimony by remaining aboard his yacht in international waters while the committee sought his appearance. Snyder ultimately testified before the committee.