Joshua Kushner has said he regrets his involvement in the ill-fated plan to sell off a stake in FIFA to private investment.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino unveiled the plan in late July, which called for selling a minority stake of its ownership to private investors in a smaller segment called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
Leading the investment group was Thrive Eternal, which was founded by Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
The FFE proposal generated furious backlash across the soccer world, which led to Infantino abandoning the planjust days after it was announced.
But that wasn't the end of the story for Infantino, who now appears to be in a fight to retain his position due to the FFE proposal.
Infantino is up for re-election in March and he will likely face a challenger in an election that was previously expected to be uncontested.
After the collapse of the FFE proposal, Kushner turned around and quickly completed a record $12.5 billion deal to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers.
In a statement, Kushner defended the FFE deal but admitted he was unprepared for the level of backlash it would generate.
"Money in football has historically been concentrated amongst a small group of countries," he said.
“The idea behind FFE was to direct more capital and equity equally amongst all 211 member countries, providing significantly more investment to underdeveloped nations to nurture local talent, support grassroots football, enhance the fan experience, and ultimately grow the global game everywhere.
“It was an idea that every Member Association would vote on, not an obligation or determination. While we stand behind the motivations of FFE, we failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football, and the lengths some would go to.
“Thrive has a long track record of being a partner to all constituents. Had we known what this would devolve into, we would not have gotten involved.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joshua Kushner regrets involvement in FIFA private investment plan
