FIFA doubles down on investor plan after UEFA boycott threat
FIFA says it will continue to pursue its controversial investor plans despite opposition from regional football confederations in Europe, Asia and North America. "Nobody is
FIFA says it will continue to pursue its controversial investor plans despite opposition from regional football confederations in Europe, Asia and North America. "Nobody is selling football," the body insists. World football's governing body, FIFA, doubled down on its private investment plans on Friday, despite fierce opposition from regional confederations including a threat of a boycott from European governing body UEFA. "Nobody is selling football. This is not something FIFA would ever entertain," FIFA said in statement, slamming "incorrect media reports" and insisting that its consultation process would continue. "We will proceed with this consultation process to ensure that each MA [Member Association] has the ability to express its vote based on facts," read the statement. "Everyone has the right to express their opposition and to seek further clarification but no single entity can claim to represent all 211 MAs around the world. Each MA should be allowed to review the proposal and have a say in shaping their own future. These are the democratic principles of FIFA." UEFA reject FIFA proposal, threaten boycott On Thursday, European football's governing body, UEFA, had voted unanimously to boycott FIFA competitions if the world governing body proceeds with plans to create a new commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion (roughly €17.5 billion) and sell a non-controlling minority stake in it to investors. The subsidiary, "FIFA Forward Enterprise" (FFE) would be responsible for FIFA's commercial rights like broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing contracts for its competitions, including the World Cup. The proposed investor consortium is expected to be led by "Thrive Eternal," a fund run by "Thrive Capital," founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. FIFA President Gianni Infantino would require 106 of FIFA's 211 member associations to give him a majority mandate to pursue the plans, but opposition has come swiftly.
"No UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership," UEFA said in a statement after a unanimous vote by its 55 member associations. "The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product... No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale," the statement added. CONCACAF and AFC also criticize FIFA plan Shortly after, North America's soccer body CONCACAF also unanimously rejected the FIFA plan, though it stopped short of threatening a boycott by its 41 members. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) also issued a scathing letter to its 47 member associations and warned the FIFA proposal would never succeed without the support of all six regional blocs. African body CAF said it would convene an executive committee meeting next week to look into the proposal, saying in a statement "CAF is committed to continue consulting and working together with its Member Associations, FIFA, other Football Confederations and stakeholders in support of increasing financial and other resources for the development and growth of football in Africa and worldwide," it said. UEFA swiftly rejected FIFA's proposal UEFA, which had criticized FIFA and Infantino during the recent World Cup over expensive ticket prices and the Folarin Balogun red card affair, had come out publicly in opposition to the plan within an hour of it first being reported by the Financial Times and Times on Tuesday. Shortly after the newspaper reports, FIFA, the sport's global governing body, issued a statement confirming the plan.
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