The Czech Football Association’s president, David Trunda, is the first European federation head to publicly back Gianni Infantino’s controversial plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup’s commercial rights. And that’s a problem for UEFA’s hopes of organizing a boycott.
On Tuesday, Infantino’s proposal became public. It essentially offers FIFA’s 211 member associations a choice: sign on by September 19 and get a lot more money, or refuse and lose out on tens of millions of dollars. The plan would create a new FIFA subsidiary called FFE, with investment backing from Thrive Eternal, a firm led by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, who’s married to Ivanka Trump.
Trunda told Sky News he sees the “positive impact” of the plan. “I can see the pragmatic benefits for Czech football from working in close co-operation with Gianni Infantino and his team,” he said. He added that his experience with FIFA projects so far has been “very positive for the development of European football.”
That might be a reasonable take from a smaller federation’s perspective. But for UEFA, which has been trying to rally its 55 member associations into a united front against Infantino’s power grab, Trunda’s stance is an early crack. A boycott requires unanimous agreement from all UEFA members. One holdout kills it. And now there’s at least one.
The money is blunt and the timeline is tight
Infantino’s pitch isn’t subtle. In a letter obtained by The Independent, he promises that if the new subsidiary is approved, each member association’s FIFA Forward funding would jump from about $8 million to $20 million for the 2027-2031 cycle. On top of that, there’s a one-time bonus payment of another $20 million for those who vote yes on September 19.
But here’s the threat baked into the same letter: if the vote fails, funding drops to just $10 million for that cycle. That’s a $30 million gap between saying yes and saying no. The message is clear. And the clock is ticking — members have 53 days to decide.
FIFA says the deal could raise $4.2 billion. The English FA responded by saying it was “completely unaware of this proposal” and has no details on what it actually is or what conditions apply. They said they’d comment after seeing the full proposal.
UEFA’s statement Tuesday was much sharper. “The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially,” it read. “None of us are the owners of football: it is not FIFA’s to sell.”
Trunda is an outlier so far. The Czech FA will discuss the proposals at an executive meeting on August 11. But if even one more federation follows his lead, UEFA’s boycott strategy might be dead before it really starts.
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