FIFA denies 'selling football' as AFC joins opposition to plan

FIFA insists "nobody is selling football" amid criticism of its decision to launch a consultation on selling stakes in a World Cup commercial entity to private investors. <p>However, football's global governing body stopped short of withdrawing the controversial plan and insisted it would press ahead with the consultation period.</p><p><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/13568511/uefa-will-boycott-fifa-tournaments-if-gianni-infantino-continues-with-plans-to-sell-off-stake-in-world-cup">UEFA's 55 member associations insisted they would not participate in any FIFA tournament until the plan was withdrawn.</a> 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".</p><p>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".</p><ul><li><strong><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/13568527/uefa-to-boycott-fifa-tournaments-q-and-a-why-they-are-doing-can-it-stop-gianni-infantino-and-where-do-other-confederations-stand">Q&A: Why is UEFA boycotting FIFA tournaments and can it stop Gianni Infantino?</a></strong></li><li><strong><a href="http://dates,%20schedule,%20hosts,%20stadiums%20and%20how%20qualification%20works/">World Cup 2030: Dates, schedule, hosts, stadiums and how qualification works</a></strong></li><li><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/live-blog/11095/13509050/world-cup-2026-news-and-live-updates-usa-canada-and-mexico-build-up-plus-latest-on-trump-tickets-and-fans"><strong>World Cup latest news</strong></a> | <strong><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12098/13271394/2034-world-cup-saudi-arabia-wins-right-to-host-mens-tournament-with-2030-world-cup-to-be-held-in-three-continents">Saudi Arabia to host 2034 World Cup</a></strong></li></ul><p>That means confederations representing 143 of FIFA's 211 member associations have now opposed the plan.</p><p>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.</p><p>"We respect the feedback and concern aired in public and reaffirm our commitment to an open and democratic consultation.</p><p>⁠"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."</p><p>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.</p><p>"Nobody is selling football. This is not something FIFA would ever entertain."</p><p>FIFA president Gianni Infantino has publicly backed the plan, with an investor group led by Thrive Eternal, founded by Joshua Kushner - the brother of United States President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner - waiting in the wings to secure a minority stake in the new venture.</p><p>However, promises of huge returns to national associations if FFE goes ahead could surely not be honoured if the men's and women's World Cups took place without European involvement, even if Infantino could still muster majority support for FFE.</p><p>European and world leagues are also opposed to the plans - fearing that commercial imperatives will drive FIFA to hold bigger and more frequent tournaments in the future, eating even further into domestic schedules.</p><p>UEFA's opposition to the plan, in its words, is "unanimous and unequivocal".</p><p>"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," European football's governing body stated.</p><p>FIFA's statement added that "each MA should be allowed to review the proposal and have a say in shaping their own future".</p><p>The AFC has been a big supporter of Infantino up to now but its intervention marks a shift, with its statement coming close to asking for Infantino to step down. AFC president Sheikh Salman came second behind Infantino in the FIFA presidential election in 2016.</p><p>A statement said: "The AFC believes this moment must become a catalyst for strengthening institutional reform. While every FIFA MA must have the opportunity to consider and determine proposals affecting the future of world football, meaningful democracy is not measured solely by the opportunity to vote. It begins with transparent governance, timely consultation, informed deliberation and genuine participation throughout the decision-making process.</p><p>"Accordingly, the AFC calls upon FIFA to undertake an urgent review of its governance and decision-making framework to ensure that proposals of global significance are developed through proper consultation, meaningful engagement and appropriate oversight by FIFA's statutory bodies."</p><h3>'Infantino is in a hole and he needs to stop digging</h3><p><em>Analysis from Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol:</em></p><p>"It is a desperate, tone-deaf statement that was issued in the middle of the night from FIFA's Zurich bunker. It's very interesting that it doesn't mention their president by name.</p><p>"The way I read this is that this is a statement from Gianni Infantino; it's not necessarily a FIFA statement. How many people inside FIFA actually agree with what he is doing?</p><p>"He...