FIFA has confirmed it will not withdraw its plan to launch a consultation on selling stakes in a World Cup commercial entity to private investors, despite threats that teams will boycott the tournament. The association issued a fresh statement insisting that "nobody is selling football".
The consultation period is set to go ahead despite UEFA's threat to boycott the World Cup.
UEFA's backlash
UEFA reacted with anger when plans to create FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) first emerged in media reports in The Times and the Financial Times on Tuesday. Within days, the 55 member associations stated they would boycott the World Cup and not participate in any FIFA tournament until the plan was withdrawn.
FIFA's response
FIFA responded to the boycott on Friday, saying: "We have heard the feedback provided by the respective confederations in relation to the proposed establishment of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) and would like to address the issues that have surfaced since the initial media reporting on Tuesday. We respect the feedback and concern aired in public and reaffirm our commitment to an open and democratic consultation. Our planned consultation process was disrupted by incorrect media reports. We will proceed with this consultation process to ensure that each MA has the ability to express its vote based on facts."
'Nobody is selling football'
The statement continued: "FFE has been proposed solely to ensure that all FIFA Member Associations (MAs) have the opportunity to take meaningful ownership of the commercial opportunity of football in their respective countries, and that this does not come at the cost of either the spirit or the governance of FIFA or football itself. Nobody is selling football. This is not something FIFA would ever entertain."
Opposition from confederations and leagues
CONCACAF, the confederation representing 41 nations from North and Central America along with the Caribbean, also opposed the plan, saying it "rejected the proposal". FIFA president Gianni Infantino has publicly backed the plan, with an investor group led by Thrive Eternal – founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner – waiting in the wings to secure a minority stake in the new venture.
European and world leagues are also opposed, fearing that commercial imperatives will drive FIFA to hold bigger and more frequent tournaments in the future, eating further into domestic schedules. UEFA said its opposition to the plan is "unanimous and unequivocal".
The European governing body stated: "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."
What a boycott would mean
The boycott would mean England would not compete at the next World Cup. The current winners of the World Cup would also be part of the boycott. However, it could be argued that the huge returns to national associations are unlikely if all European teams withdraw from tournaments.
FIFA's statement added that "each MA should be allowed to review the proposal and have a say in shaping their own future".
