Just when you thought global soccer couldn’t get more odiously capitalistic, Gianni Infantino said: “Hold my beer” (as long as that beer you’re holding is a Michelob Ultra, one of the official sponsors of the 2026 World Cup).

The World Cup, one of the largest and most prestigious sporting competitions on the planet, is for sale. Infantino, the president of the soccer governing body Fifa, is the architect of a plan to sell up to 20% of a new subsidiary that would administer tournaments such as the World Cup and Club World Cup. The subsidiary, which would oversee Fifa’s commercial activities, would be called “Fifa Forward Enterprises”. If I see the word “forward” in a corporate initiative, I assume it’s either a diversity program that’ll get dropped after a couple years, a training video on how to exit a building during an emergency evacuation, or a blatant cash grab. Take a guess which one I think this is.

If you were waiting for a six-degrees-of-separation connection to Donald Trump in this story, here it is: the head of the potential investment group is Thrive Eternal – which sounds like the name of an obscure Star Wars villain or a nu-metal band from 2003. Thrive is the handiwork of Josh Kushner, brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The scheme could rain down profits on anyone lucky enough to be able to invest in one of the surest bets in live entertainment. I’m not sure I’ll be able to grab a piece of the action, but if I could, I’d be in line to buy a private island,........

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