Global soccer's governing body FIFA is now in major open conflict with the majority of its regional confederations, as its plans to sell minority stakes in its major competitions such as the showpiece World Cup continue to cause anger and upheaval across the world of soccer.
The governing bodies for the sport in Europe (UEFA), North/Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf), and Asia (the AFC), have all expressed their complete opposition to the plans unveiled by FIFA earlier this week that would see sales of minority stakes in a new commercial subsidiary to outside investors.
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Gianni Infantino, the controversial FIFA president (running unopposed for a fourth term) who has been leading its incessant push to secure more revenue through any means necessary in recent years, needs 106 FIFA member associations to vote in favor of these proposals for them to go through. Together, the three confederations listed above – who have said all of their members will vote against – contain 143 associations.
National soccer associations (there are 211 in total, worldwide, meaning FIFA needs a simple majority) now have until September 19 to decide whether to each accept initial funding of $20 million that would only be generated by the sale.
FIFA, in the wake of such fierce opposition from the confederations listed above, has had to defend itself and its plans over the last 48 hours – whilst also dealing with the resignation of Infantino's senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro because of the plans.
Taking the lead in terms of opposition to the project has been UEFA – following a crisis meeting of the body's 55 member associations yesterday, it was announced that should the plans proceed, all those 55 countries will boycott FIFA competitions (including the World Cup).
UEFA said yesterday: "The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of football's greatest sporting legacies. It has been built over generations by players, national teams, and supporters across every continent. No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale."
The first occasion UEFA's position will be tested will be in October, when the playoff games for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup are due to take place.
UEFA had already called FIFA's plans an attempt "to enrich themselves and their friends," before yesterday saying that it was "irresponsible and indefensible that a proposal of such significance for football was conceived in secret" and "without any meaningful consultation."
The European soccer body concluded by calling FIFA's actions "governance by intimidation – an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game."
Concacaf, meanwhile, said that its 41 member associations have also rejected FIFA's plans, saying that the membership have "deep concerns about the lack of due process surrounding the proposal, the artificially short deadline imposed, and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governance bodies."
It added, in light of the largest-ever FIFA World Cup having taken place over June and July in North America, that it questioned the need for outside investment "following the most profitable FIFA World Cup in history."
The AFC's president – Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa – has said, meanwhile, that the actions by FIFA "appear to undermine the very foundations of continental football, which are based on solidarity, cooperation and transparency."
The AFC president added: "The AFC notes with great concern and disappointment that it was not consulted by FIFA at any level prior to the public announcement of this proposal, and nor has it received any detailed governance, financial, or legal analysis of the proposal and its potential repercussions, which is totally unacceptable."
For the other FIFA confederations, meanwhile, the Confederation for African Football has urged its members to assess the plans in detail, while the South American Conmebol body has not yet made a public comment on the issue.
Cordeiro (a senior FIFA strategy and governance advisor), in his resignation statement, simply said that the proposal represented "a bad deal for football."
In terms of the public defence offered by Switzerland-based FIFA, the organization has claimed that "our planned consultation process was disrupted by incorrect media reports," and that "we respect the feedback and concern aired in public and reaffirm our commitment to an open and democratic consultation."
In a statement issued in the early hours of this morning (Central European Time), FIFA stated: "Nobody is selling football. This is not something FIFA would ever entertain."
It adds that FIFA would own and control the commercial subsidiary permanently, and that "the commercial value created would be shared among all 211 [member associations], enabling each MA to make meaningful investments in football in their respective countries."
FIFA has also stressed that as the consultation process is only just starting, all components "are open for discussion" – and that this could involve "approval, rejection, or amendment, in their entirety or individually."
The international governing body's plans – at this stage – would involve raising $4.2 billion through minority sales – assuming a total valuation of $20 billion in the venture – by "carefully selecting long-term investors who will purchase minority, non-controlling interests" in the subsidiary, which is currently being called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
FIFA has said this will go towards creating a new funding mechanism for its 211 member associations, called the FIFA Fast-Forward Programme (FFFP).
It has been unveiled that JP Morgan has already been engaged to work alongside FIFA on the project, and that Greg Maffei, former president and chief executive of Liberty Media when the group owned Formula 1, is also involved. Capital holding company Thrive Eternal – led by the brother of US president Donald Trump's son-in-law – will likely lead the FFE investor group.
The scheme has already gathered expressions of interest from potential investors across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa, according to FIFA.
