By South China Morning Post | Created at 2026-08-04 10:28:59 | Updated at 2026-08-04 12:16:20
2 hours ago
When
Fifa president Gianni Infantino pushed a plan to bring private investors into a new commercial entity tied to the World Cup, critics warned it risked selling part of football’s most valuable asset.
Erick Thohir, chairman of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), disagreed. He backed the now-scrapped scheme – despite opposition from regional bodies including the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), PSSI’s own parent body – as he felt Indonesia owed Fifa a debt of gratitude for standing by its football after years of crisis.
Analysts said that explanation told only part of the story. Thohir’s support was also aimed at preserving Infantino’s favour at a time when Indonesia was relying on Fifa’s political and financial backing to rebuild after a deadly stadium disaster, restore its international standing and pursue a bigger place in world football, they said.
But gratitude was a weak reason to support a proposal much of football viewed as a threat to the game, they said, arguing Indonesia needed domestic funding and deeper grass roots reform more than another show of loyalty to Fifa.
Infantino was seeking to raise US$20 billion from his proposed Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), which would control events such as the men’s and women’s World Cups. The money would come from private investors such as Joshua Kushner, brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared, ESPN reported.
