World football governing body, FIFA has withdrawn its proposal to sell a part of the commercial rights of the men’s World Cup, women’s World Cup and the club World Cup.
Earlier this week, FIFA announced plans to launch a new enterprise called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) to raise more money to support the development of football globally.
The new enterpise was planned to be led by US investment firms like JP Morgan and Thrive Capital, was expected to generate an initial $4.2 billion with each member association of FIFA receiving a bumper $20 million, up from their $8 million per cycle.
Following immediate heavy criticisms from confederations (UEFA, AFC, CONCACAF), world leaders and football enthusiasts, FIFA has now withdrawn the idea.
FIFA Withdraws FFE Proposal After Widespread Opposition
On Saturday, the global football body noted that the proposal has caused a division in football community and has gone against its initial objective.
FIFA added that they will be working to bring back all parties who disagreed with the proposal to the table in the interest of the game and unity.
The statement read: “The FIFA Forward Enterprise project was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening our FIFA Member Associations and our sport worldwide, especially in those countries where support is most needed.
“And more so, as we said from the outset, to do this only if a majority of the FIFA Member Associations were in support and always subject to a consultation process with them, the FIFA Council, the Confederations and wider stakeholders.
“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place.
“Our purpose has always been - and will always be - to unite and improve.
“As a result, this proposal will not proceed.
“Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support.”
UEFA Welcomes FIFA's U-Turn But Questions Infantino's Leadership
The European football body has been the most vocal confederation in the issue of sale of the World Cup commercial rights and on Saturday, they were the first to respond.
After initially agreeing to withdraw from World Cup competitions, UEFA welcomed FIFA’s response to the backlash but admitted that it has lost confidence in the leadership of FIFA led by Gianni Infantino.
“UEFA welcomes FIFA’s decision to withdraw its plan to sell a stake in its competitions – including the World Cup – into private hands,” the statement read.
“The proposal was unanimously rejected by UEFA’s national associations and by many other federations and confederations of all sizes around the world, whose job it is to protect football.
“UEFA thanks all the fans, leagues, clubs, players, individuals, associations and confederations that opposed the scheme, alongside the many Prime Ministers, Heads of State and commentators who have demonstrated to the FIFA President that football is not for sale.”
It added that it would be having a wide consultation with confederations to examine the failed promises of Infantino regarding transparency.
The statement continued: “We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account.
“It is right that, in the coming days and weeks, UEFA will work with its associations and in close cooperation with other confederations to reflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again. That review should be thorough and fundamental. No option should be off the table. The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.
“When Gianni Infantino asked for the trust and the votes of FIFA’s Member Associations to elect him as their President in 2016, he said, “Of course we have to be transparent. I have been this in the last 15 years of my life in UEFA. You will have to play a part every day in the life of FIFA,” before telling the assembled stakeholders, “The money of FIFA is your money. It’s not the money of the FIFA President. It’s your money. You are the national associations and the money of FIFA has to serve for the development of football and not for anything else.”
“On both these promises, he has failed to deliver. The shabby, back room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through was anything but transparent.
“And with reserves standing at over $5bn, he has also failed to use associations’ money for the benefit of the game.”
What UEFA's Loss Of Confidence Means For Gianni Infantino
UEFA’s announcement has dealt a huge blow to Infantino’s re-election with the Swiss administrator already canvassing support for third-term at the helm of FIFA.
There is presently no opposition to challenge Infantino with FIFA election slated for March 2027 at the 75th FIFA Congress in Morocco.
UEFA’s unanimous decision has now set the stage for a huge political showdown with approximately nine months to go.
Meanwhile, early reports indicate that beIN chief and PSG president, Nasser Al-Khalifi might be backed to challenge Infantino’s leadership.
