RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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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.
However, football's global governing body stopped short of withdrawing the controversial plan and insisted it would press ahead with the consultation period.
UEFA reacted furiously when the plans to create FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) first emerged in media reports in The Times and the Financial Times on Tuesday.
Less than 48 hours later, UEFA's 55 member associations insisted they would not participate in any FIFA tournament until the plan was withdrawn.
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."
Separately, 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."
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.
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.
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.
UEFA's opposition to the plan, in its words, is "unanimous and unequivocal."
"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.
The statement said the way in which FFE had come to light – with national associations and even European members of the FIFA Council blindsided until media reports emerged on Tuesday – was "irresponsible and indefensible."
FIFA was also accused of "an act of coercion" in asking associations to approve the FFE proposal by September 19, dangling a carrot of up to 40 million US dollars (£30m) in development funding to associations willing to participate in the plan in the run-up to the 2030 World Cup alone.
UEFA's chief complaint, though, was the impact handing over stakes to private investors would have.
FIFA's Friday statement added that "each MA (Member Association) should be allowed to review the proposal and have a say in shaping their own future."
The association said the proposals were subject to consultation and could be approved, rejected or amended, while FIFA's commercial activities would remain unchanged without majority backing from members.
The English FA said it stood "shoulder to shoulder" with other European governing bodies in supporting the boycott stance, while the Scottish, Welsh and Irish FAs and the FA of Ireland also said they agreed with the position UEFA had taken.
CONCACAF members also held a meeting to discuss FFE on Thursday, with the confederation saying in a statement: "During the meeting, the membership expressed 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."
Earlier on Thursday, FIFA's tight timeline for the FFE project came to light, with national associations informed this week that investors were expected to have transferred all monies to FIFA by the end of October, in documents seen by PA.
Any European boycott would first impact the Women's Under-20 World Cup, due to be staged in Poland in September. The big FIFA event on the longer-term horizon though is the senior Women's World Cup in Brazil next summer, with qualifiers due to take place later this year.
Infantino has said FFE would help "turbocharge" global football, and FIFA has maintained it would have sole control and ownership of FFE.
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