August 21 – FIFA boss Gianni Infantino staged conversations with private investors to explore the commercialisation of an Under-15 World Cup.

The Athletic reports that Infantino sought to commercialise the U15 festival, a tournament to which FIFA has invited all 211 member associations.

It’s not clear whether those talks formed a part of Infantino’s plans to sell a stake in the World Cup through a commercial entity to private equity and Joshua Kushner.

The U15 plans and talks involved Juan Carlos Rodríguez, the former Mexico Football Federation commissioner, and Eldridge Industries, a holding company founded and chaired by Todd Boehly. They held talks with ESPN to style the tournament as baseball’s Little League World Series and stage it in the United States in Florida at Disney’s Wide World of Sports facility in Florida.

Infantino also considered staging the opening match between Palestine and Israel.

However, earlier this summer, FIFA announced that Azerbaijan will stage the inaugural edition of the U-15 festival. Matches will be downsized: shorter and with eight teams per team. 

In a statement FIFA said at the time: “The decision follows a thorough assessment by the FIFA administration and takes into account the world-class sporting and general infrastructure in the host country, which is capable of welcoming thousands of children and support staff in a centralised location.” 

Infantino also wanted Russia to participate in the tournament. However, that idea has already faced resistance in Europe, with Ukraine saying they won’t send a team. The Russians remain excluded from international competitions following their invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the ongoing war. However, the U-15 tournament is not a part of the official international match calendar. 

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