Kushner regrets plan to sell stake in World Cup

US investor Jared Kushner said on Monday that he “would not have participated” in the failed project led by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, which sought to open the World Cup to private-sector investors, had he anticipated the angry backlash it provoked.

The brother-in-law of US President Donald Trump said he nonetheless supported the “motives” behind the project, which aimed to create a commercial entity, “FIFA Forward Enterprise,” open to private investors, to hold World Cup revenues.

The 41-year-old said in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse: “Although we support the motives behind ‘FIFA Forward Enterprise,’ we did not adequately assess the political dynamics of global football, nor how far some (opponents) were prepared to go.”

Kushner, whose firm Thrive Capital worked behind the scenes on the file for months and was expected to lead the investment process, added: “Had we known where it would lead, we would not have committed to doing it.”

According to the investor, the idea behind “FIFA Forward Enterprise” was to distribute more capital and ownership stakes more equitably among FIFA’s 211 member associations.