Football is insulated from artificial intelligence why did tech investors want a stake in the World Cup and what does it mean for the region
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A fierce opposition forced FIFA to backtrack on its plan to sell a stake in the World Cup, but the more important question remains: why did an investment fund led by Thrive Capital, the main financial backer of OpenAI, want to inject $4.2 billion into a football tournament? The answer reveals a broader strategy: seeking assets that technology cannot replicate.
Joshua Kusher, Jared Kusher’s brother, founded an investment arm called Thrive Eternal in April 2024 to target “attributes that technology cannot emulate.” Sport, and football in particular, was at the core. The logic: tradition, cultural identity and the shared experience of fans make football insulated from the disruption that movies and music have faced, as artificial intelligence has already begun replacing humans.
The proposed plan (Forward Enterprise) would have granted each FIFA member association a stake of up to $91 million based on a $20 billion valuation, while FIFA would retain control of the shares. The investors were prepared to wait “contracts” without return, describing Thrive Eternal as a holding company rather than a traditional fund.
What this means for sport in the region:Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are investing billions in sports infrastructure, and the Saudi league is attracting global stars with record contracts. The entry of tech capital (OpenAI backers) into football is not accidental; it is a bet that “heritage and identity” will increase in value as artificial intelligence advances. The region’s clubs, their federations and giga-project initiatives (NEOM, ROSHN, Qiddiya) sit at the intersection of that bet.
Experts’ warning:Professor Simon Chadwick, who has worked in the global sports industry for 30 years, warns: “Decisions are being made on Wall Street and Silicon Valley on behalf of football and its fans, as if the move slipped past us unnoticed.” Christina Filippo, professor of sport accounting and finance at the University of Portsmouth, adds: “FIFA is not in a state of financial desperation… it could easily increase payments to member associations from its own funds.”
Conclusion:The deal fell through, but the appetite of tech capital for football has not vanished. The region that invests in sport as a tool of soft power and economic transformation should read the signal: investors who built artificial intelligence are now betting on what “AI cannot replicate.” Football, with its heritage and fans, sits at the heart of that bet.