UEFA called a meeting of its 55 members on Thursday afternoon to discuss their response to FIFA’s plans to create a new commercial subsidiary worth $20 billion (about €17.5 billion) and sell a non-controlling minority stake in it to investors.
UEFA, European football’s governing body, came out publicly in opposition to the plan within an hour of it being first reported. financial Times And Times On Monday.
Shortly after the newspaper’s report, FIFA, the sport’s global governing body, released a statement confirming the plan. In a later statement, it gave FIFA’s 211 member associations until 19 September to express their written support for the plan. The motion requires a simple majority and the approval of the FIFA Council to pass.
UEFA doubled down on its criticism after learning of the deadline, saying: “Today we have learned of the deadline set by FIFA for associations to support their proposals or withdraw the lump sum payment offer. This is everything you need to know about this plan.
It added that conversations with a number of stakeholders had revealed “there is significant and growing opposition to FIFA’s plan. FIFA cannot use our game to enrich itself and its friends.”
DFB: FIFA plan ‘problematic and unacceptable’
Germany’s mass expansion Picture The newspaper reported that key UEFA officials, including German FA (DFB) president Bernd Neuendorf, had already discussed the FIFA plans via a video call on Wednesday.
“We don’t want to lose the fans’ support, but we are on the way to ruining it,” he later told public broadcaster ZDF. “I find this extremely problematic and unacceptable,” he said.
“If UEFA rejects this request (for approval of the plan), it is dead, because I believe that with UEFA out you will not find any investors willing to go ahead with this project.”
Other critics have expressed fears that the deal could lead to more tournaments, teams and matches to increase revenues and increase the value of investors’ stakes.
UEFA is not the only association to criticize the report. CONCACAF, responsible for North and Central America, as well as the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have also expressed concern that the proposal was made public without their consultation, while the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have said they will discuss the plans next week. FIFA council members, including Neuendorf, have said they were not consulted on the latest proposal.
FIFA: subsidiary could raise billions of dollars ‘this year’
FIFA said the new subsidiary, to be known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), would be valued at $20 billion and would aim to raise up to $4.2 billion “this year” by “carefully selecting long-term investors purchasing minority, non-controlling interests” in the company. The FFE will be responsible for FIFA’s commercial rights such as broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing contracts. By far the most valuable of these are those associated with the World Cup,
Under the plan, FIFA said it could make $10 billion available for development starting in 2027. Each federation will be eligible for up to $20 million in one-time Fast Forward funding, in addition to $20 million through the regular FIFA Forward program during the 2027–30 cycle. Without approval, FIFA offers a development package worth approximately $2.7 billion.
Infantino: ‘A golden opportunity’
Facing opposition, FIFA president Gianni Infantino released a video on Wednesday evening, calling the project a “golden opportunity to promote the development of the game globally.”
He said the proposal was “part of the democratic process” and in comments directed at football fans he stressed that “the game they watch and love will not change.”
Edited by: Matt Pearson