Thrive Capital, a prominent New York-based venture firm, has become entangled in a contentious controversy surrounding FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The dispute centers on Infantino’s aborted plan to establish the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a corporate entity that would have owned commercial aspects of FIFA competitions, including TV rights and ticket sales revenues. Thrive, led by founder Josh Kushner, was set to be a lead investor in a potential $4.2 billion secondary share sale of FFE, representing 20% of the entity at a $20 billion valuation. However, the plan was scrapped following backlash from European and North American member associations, who opposed the potential influence of private equity investors.

In response to the unfolding drama, Kushner issued a statement defending Thrive’s initial involvement, asserting that the concept of FFE aimed to distribute capital and equity more equitably among FIFA’s 211 member associations, thereby supporting underdeveloped nations and growing the global game. Kushner acknowledged that Thrive failed to anticipate the political complexities of global football and stated that the firm would not have participated had it foreseen the current situation. Amidst the legal turmoil, Thrive has retained Alex Spiro, a high-profile attorney known for representing clients such as Elon Musk, to handle its defense. UEFA is pursuing legal action against Infantino and has sought a U.S. federal court order compelling Thrive to disclose documents related to the valuation and potential investors in the proposed FFE deal. Source

This is a summary. Read the original at techcrunch.com.