Chiliz, a blockchain company specializing in sports fan tokens, has proposed that FIFA incorporate a tokenized equity model into its now-shelved $4.2 billion fundraising plan — opening investment opportunities to soccer fans around the world, not just institutional players. The idea is to broaden inclusive finance in sports by extending to individual investors the kind of access previously reserved for institutions.
Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz, said Tuesday that the collapse of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) was not because fans rejected the idea of monetizing soccer's commercial value. "It failed because that value was once again designed to flow to a small group of institutional investors and private capital," he said.
"Private equity is structured around institutions, with minimum investments ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, and regulatory barriers make cross-border participation difficult," Dreyfus said. "Fans don't lack interest in owning a stake in sports — the existing financial infrastructure has simply excluded them."
FIFA had earlier unveiled plans to establish FFE as a commercial subsidiary, valuing it at $20 billion and selling a non-controlling minority stake to long-term investors to raise up to $4.2 billion. The entity was to house broadcasting rights, sponsorships, ticket sales and licensing for the World Cup and other men's, women's and youth competitions, alongside tournament operations.
The proceeds were intended to support soccer development projects — including stadiums and training centers — for FIFA's 211 member associations. FIFA projected that combined with existing programs, total development support over the following four years would exceed $10 billion.
The soccer world pushed back sharply, however. UEFA and others accused FIFA of attempting to hand tournament operational rights to private investors without adequate consultation with member associations. Critics warned that even without formal control, outside investors would pressure FIFA to maximize returns in ways that could affect the international match calendar and how competitions are run. FIFA withdrew the FFE plan on July 31 as the controversy grew.
In response, Socios.com — the sports fan platform operated by Chiliz — last month submitted a proposal to FIFA suggesting that the equity stake FFE had planned to sell externally be issued instead as tokenized securities. The proposal would keep institutional investors in the picture while allowing individuals to participate in the same product on the same terms.
"Imagine a teacher in Buenos Aires, a soccer fan in Lagos, a family in Jakarta — all investing on the same terms as the world's largest investment firms," Dreyfus said. "A handful of institutional investors will always chase financial returns, but millions of fans who are also shareholders make an emotional investment: they want soccer to grow over the long term."
The tokenized equity Chiliz is proposing differs fundamentally from existing club fan tokens. Rather than tokens used for club-related voting or perks, these would be regulated securities representing actual equity in FFE, built on blockchain infrastructure. Depending on issuance terms, they could carry voting rights and dividend entitlements equivalent to ordinary shares, and would be subject to disclosure requirements and investor protection rules.
Another key feature is fractional issuance — equity divided into small units. Subject to each country's regulatory framework, secondary trading between investors would also be possible. Traditional private equity demands high minimum investments and settlement systems geared toward large-scale transactions, shutting out individual investors; Chiliz argues tokenization can lower that threshold.
"This is not about digital assets replacing traditional finance — it's about dramatically improving how regulated financial products are distributed," Dreyfus said. "Europe already has a regulatory regime for tokenized securities, and the United States is handling them within its existing securities framework." He added: "The technology and legal foundation are already in place. The only question now is whether there is the will to actually use them."
On concerns about the administrative burden of managing retail investor participation, Dreyfus said: "Complex and impossible are not the same thing. Modern financial markets handle millions of retail investors every day, and tokenization is simply a means of expanding access to asset classes that have until now been available only to a select few."
He also stressed that "for decades, the commercial benefits of soccer have flowed to clubs, governing bodies, broadcasters and professional investors," adding: "If we are going to keep creating new financial products based on the world's most popular sport, we need to rethink who gets to participate in the value that process generates."
Chiliz plans to build and operate the necessary infrastructure using Socios Equity Token, a regulated securities platform it is preparing to launch. The company has said that if the FFE structure is revived and approved, it will provide infrastructure development and operations at cost, with no profit margin.
Chiliz said its proposal remains on the table even after the FFE withdrawal. "If fans from all 211 FIFA member nations participate alongside professional investors, instead of concentrating ownership in a handful of global funds, we could create one of the broadest shareholder communities in the history of sports," the company said. "That changes not just the ownership structure, but the legitimacy of the entire enterprise."
kyoung@heraldcorp.com
