NWSL's Berman backs Concacaf on FIFA, pushes women's game
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- Jessica Berman said the NWSL "wholeheartedly" supports Concacaf's rejection of FIFA president Gianni Infantino's FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, which would have bundled men's and women's World Cups and Club World Cups and sold roughly 20% to private investors for about $4 billion.
- FFE was backed by Thrive Eternal, led by venture capitalist Joshua Kushner — whose brother Jared Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law; opposition from UEFA, Concacaf and the AFC forced Infantino to withdraw the proposal within days, with some now calling for his resignation and others weighing bids in March's presidential election.
- U.S. Soccer CEO J.T. Batson said the federation's stance on FIFA's leadership will be discussed at September's board meeting, ahead of a November deadline for candidates to declare interest; Concacaf president Victor Montagliani is reportedly mulling a run.
- The FFE sales deck — 25 pages — included no plans for the Women's World Cup or other women's competitions, a gap Berman called critical; her priorities for any FIFA leader center on women's game investment and a balanced club-versus-country international match calendar through 2029.
- Berman called the international match calendar "probably our most important and active workstream" because it underpins NWSL broadcast agreements, with the next 12-18 months critical as the women's international calendar for the next cycle gets set.
- The NWSL plans to open its 2027 season in Los Angeles on Feb. 11, days before the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium; its Summer of Soccer campaign during the men's World Cup drew roughly 300% Instagram growth, 100% YouTube growth, about 40 million social impressions and an average match attendance of 11,174 — second-highest in league history behind 2024's 11,249.
Why it matters: Berman's public endorsement of Concacaf's stance lands two months before the November deadline for FIFA presidential candidates, putting U.S. Soccer's September board discussion on the clock to weigh both the rejected FFE privatization and the absence of women's competitions in FIFA's commercial planning — with NWSL calendar decisions tied directly to its broadcast deals.
