The man who bought F1 was at centre of FIFA's controversial 'World Cup selloff' plan

Maffei, Domenicali, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

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The man who bought F1 was at centre of FIFA's controversial 'World Cup selloff' plan

Maffei headed up Liberty Media's acquisition of F1

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Wednesday 5 August 2026 18:45 Updated: 12:25

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Greg Maffei, the man who once led Liberty Media's $4.4bn acquisition of F1, was at the centre of FIFA's failed plan to form a new $20bn commercial entity.

The FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal hit the headlines globally when it was revealed it included selling a 20 percent stake in a newly formed company to house its commercial and media rights.

The blockbuster revelations came in the aftermath of what was a wildly successful 2026 men's World Cup for FIFA - resulting in record $13.7bn revenues for the current four-year cycle.

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The resulting storm has seen the plan subsequently shelved by FIFA, and the non-profit organisation's chief executive Gianni Infantino facing calls to resign from his post.

Infantino was facing senior world football leaders in Morocco on Wednesday as the fallout continues, but one man who has defended the aborted plan is former Liberty CEO Maffei.

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Maffei defends FIFA plan

The 66-year-old New Yorker, speaking in an interview with the UK's Financial Times, denied that the proposal amounted to '"selling off the World Cup".

He also scoffed at comparisons with the failed breakaway European Super League plan of 2021, claiming: “This is the opposite. This is saying 211 member associations get to decide what they want to do.”

Maffei, who has acted as a commercial advisor on the project, added: “There’s a trend of this going on in sports all over the place, it’s something that all sorts of people have done.”

The former Liberty chief also claims that FIFA would not be ceding control to investors as he explained: “No one is talking about trying to lever the game up or something like that. That’s certainly not the plan."

What did FIFA's plan mean for world football?

The new cash flowing in to FIFA as part of the plan would have been distributed equally between those 211 member associations, in the form of a £20m initial payment for each followed by further funding in the next four-year cycle.

Despite raking in those record revenues for the cycle which is just ending, FIFA did come under heavy fire for the way it had the cash registers ringing. Particularly through soaring ticket prices.

Maffei has a proven track record with F1 success

Maffei is credited with a fair chunk of the success for the growth which F1 is now enjoying. Liberty's takeover ushered in a brave new world for the sport after the long-term tenure of Bernie Ecclestone at the head of motor racing's premier series.

The way Liberty has changed the sport - notably with the advent of hit Netflix show 'Drive to Survive' has seen interest rocket with a new fanbase latching onto the teams and drivers. Revenues grew to a record $3.87bn in 2025.