Kushner: Thrive 'Would Not Have Gotten Involved' Knowing How FIFA Deal Would Unravel

In his most extensive comments yet, published Thursday by Fortune, Josh Kushner said 'had we known what this would devolve into, we would not have gotten involved.' He maintained Thrive still believes the underlying concept was sound — a commercial subsidiary that would have offered $20 million to each of FIFA's 211 member federations while directing revenue toward grassroots development — but said the firm underestimated the backlash from European football's power structure. The interview landed the day after FIFA's Colorado federal court filing accusing UEFA of a 'smear campaign' over its discovery requests targeting Thrive and FIFA in the Swiss criminal-complaint effort against Infantino.