FIFA: Nobody is selling football

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UEFA's 55 member associations insisted they would not participate in any FIFA tournament until the plan was withdrawn.

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".

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."

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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."

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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.

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.

FIFA's statement added that "each MA should be allowed to review the proposal and have a say in shaping their own future".

'Infantino is in a hole and he needs to stop digging'

Analysis from Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol:

"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.

"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?

"He's in a hole and he needs to stop digging. He needs to start reading the room. He needs to start accepting the fact his power is starting to ebb away and he needs to start by apologising to football, to football fans all around the world - and he also needs to start apologising and explain himself to the confederations and the presidents of the 211 member associations.

"And he needs to stop blaming the media. What is this crazy obsession he's got? He seems to have picked it up from President Donald Trump, where he thinks it's a good idea to keep lashing out at the media. He seems to somehow think that is going to help him.

"The reporting that has been done this week, which was led by The Times and the Financial Times has been completely and utterly accurate. And if it wasn't for this reporting, there wouldn't be this furore that we have now and we wouldn't know the facts we know now.

"I suggest Infantino needs to change course. He needs to wake up and fully understand the mess he has created for himself and he needs to start saying sorry because I think that's the only way he's going to be able to save himself."