Kushner Regrets Joining Fifa Plan

Joshua Kushner founded Thrive Capital in 2009

Venture capitalist Joshua Kushner says he would not have got involved in Fifa president Gianni Infantino's scrapped plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup if he had known how the football world reacted.

Kushner, who was set to be the lead investor in Fifa president Gianni Infantino's scrapped plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup, says he now regrets joining the proposal.

In his first public comments since the now-shelved Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme sparked a major crisis for the governing body, Kushner said: "Had we known what this would devolve into, we would not have gotten involved".

He added he had "failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football".

Kushner's comments come just days after Uefa asked a court in New York to approve subpoenas for testimony and documents from both the American billionaire and Thrive as it considers lodging a criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland.

Uefa has led the rebellion against Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who is facing calls to stand down. In late July, shortly before scrapping the plan, Fifa said "Thrive Eternal. . . is expected to lead the proposed investor group for FFE", claiming it would have seen the funding distributed to each national association for the 2027-2030 cycle increase from £5. 9m to £14. 7m.

As well as Kushner, Uefa has asked for the disclosure of documents from two Fifa businesses in the US and American financier Greg Maffei, who was a key adviser on the deal.

Kushner has recently agreed a deal to buy basketball's Los Angeles Lakers for a record $12. 5bn (£9. 3bn). Uefa to push to remove Infantino after dropping boycott

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