FIFA clarifies – ‘nobody is selling football’

FIFA revealed on Tuesday, its intention to commercialize a portion of its World Cup stakes to some “private investors”, which has sparked furious conversations around the proposed intention by the football governing body led by Gianni Infantino.

EUFA hit back with a strong message on Thursday, insisting that they could boycott all FIFA-related competitions should Infantino go ahead to sell stakes in the World Cup to the unknown investors.

The matter has escalated, leading to various football federations publicly announcing their dissatisfaction in the ongoing conversation sparked by FIFA.

FIFA insist that it would retain sole control over governance and sporting decisions without any external interference, as its been lauded by UEFA and other stakeholders of the game.

On Friday, FIFA has released a statement clarifying that “nobody is selling football” after UEFA threatens to boycott tournaments if plans to sell off stake in World Cup go ahead.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is losing support, following the breaking news, with the AFC the latest confederation to oppose World Cup sell-off plans and issues a significant statement.

This called for an immediate emergency meeting of all UEFA’s 55 member associations on Thursday afternoon. CONCACAF, the confederation representing 41 nations from North and Central America, along with the Caribbean, also made clear its opposition to FIFA’s plan, saying it “rejected the proposal”.

The Asian Football Confederation, representing 47 Asian nations, joined UEFA and CONCACAF in its opposition and called for “FIFA to undertake an urgent review of its governance”.

That means confederations representing 143 of FIFA’s 211 member associations have now opposed the plan.

Despite the stiff opposition, FIFA is keen on going ahead with its proposition and are not withdrawing the controversial plan, insisting it would press ahead with the consultation period.

In a statement released on Friday morning, FIFA said: “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.”

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.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has publicly endorsed the proposal, while an investor consortium led by Thrive Eternal founder Joshua Kushner is poised to acquire a minority stake in the new venture. Joshua Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of United States President Donald Trump.