Gianni Infantino says his FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal to welcome private investment in their competitions will not proceed due to the division it has created within football. The U-turn comes after widespread outrage about their project, with UEFA voting to boycott World Cups and the Football Association speaking out strongly against the process.
The plans were to sell a stake in FIFA’s commercial and event operations for tournaments such as the World Cup, with world football’s 211 member associations offered £30million in return for their backing. However, several of them called out the plot, with several of the six confederations, UEFA being the most vocal, also calling them out throughout the week in various statements.
Infantino issued the latest on Friday night, which reads: “Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place. Our purpose has always been – and will always be – to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”
“Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support.”
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa welcomed the withdrawal, saying: “The future of global football must always be shaped through proper consultation, collective dialogue and respect for the established governance structures of our game. The AFC stands ready to support any initiative that strengthens the unity of the football family, contributes to the continued growth of the game globally and delivers meaningful benefits to all stakeholders.”
UEFA vice-president Laura McAllister, speaking on BBC Radio 4, said of Infantino: “He had to be pushed into that corner, and that is regrettable, of course, but I think it showed the unity of football when we face such an existential crisis.
“But it really shouldn’t have come to this. I think most of us believe this was a hugely misguided and potentially catastrophic proposal, and it should never have been put on the table. I am delighted we were able to fight it off.”
Football Australia chairman Anter Isaac has also written an open letter welcoming the withdrawal, with a section of it reading: “The discussions of recent days have reinforced an important principle of good governance: proposals of global significance should be developed through robust consultation, appropriate governance processes and meaningful engagement with Member Associations before they are presented for consideration.”