The new owner of the Lakers opens up about his failed plan to buy the World Cup

Before becoming one of the new owners of Los Angeles Lakers alongside Bob Iger, Josh Kushner and his company, Thrive, were at the center of another ambitious sports project that ended up causing a huge controversy in the world of football.

Kushner was set to be one of the main investors in the plan led by FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, to sell shares of the World Cup to private investors. The initiative, dubbed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), aimed to attract private capital to world football and redistribute some of those resources among the 211 member federations.

However, the project generated strong opposition within international football. Various member associations harshly criticized the proposal, while UEFA even announced a boycott, and CONCACAF also publicly rejected Infantino's plans. The controversy also sparked renewed criticism towards FIFA's president and calls for him to resign.

Ultimately, FIFA decided to withdraw the project. Just a few weeks later, Kushner became part of the group that acquired the Los Angeles Lakers.

Kushner admits he would not have participated had he known the opposition

Until now, Kushner had not publicly spoken about his involvement in the controversial proposal. The businessman broke his silence this Monday in statements to Axios and acknowledged that Thrive would not have entered the project had they foreseen the extent of the opposition they would encounter.

"Money in football has historically been concentrated in a small group of countries. The idea behind FFE was to direct more capital and involvement fairly among the 211 member countries, providing significantly greater investment to less developed nations to develop local talent, support grassroots football, enhance the fan experience, and ultimately grow football globally everywhere," Kushner explained.

The businessman defended that the proposal was not an imposition from FIFA, but rather an initiative that had to be voted on by the member associations.

"It was an idea that all member associations would vote on, not an obligation or a determination. While we stand by the motivations of FFE, we did not appreciate the political dynamics of world football and how far some would go," he noted.

Kushner also stated that Thrive intended to act as a partner for all parties involved and lamented that the project ended up becoming a source of conflict.

"If we had known what this would become, we would not have gotten involved," he admitted.

Kushner maintains his defense of the project

Despite the failure of the initiative and the reaction it provoked among the federations, Kushner does not renounce the philosophy that was behind FIFA Forward Enterprise.

"We stand by the motivations of FIFA Forward Enterprise," the businessman stated, making it clear that, in his opinion, the problem was not necessarily with the project's goals, but with not having accurately assessed the complex political landscape of international football.

The FFE venture thus ended far from initial expectations. FIFA ruled out the sale of World Cup shares after pressure from member associations and the major structures of football, while Kushner would end up focusing his attention on a completely different operation: the acquisition of the Lakers.

The episode, however, now comes to light again after the new owner of the Los Angeles franchise has explained for the first time what his role was in one of the most controversial projects spearheaded by Infantino.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El nuevo dueño de los Lakers se sincera sobre su fallido plan de comprar el Mundial de fútbol