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The Union of European Football Associations welcomed FIFA’s withdrawal of plans to sell a stake in World Cup, as detailed in its statement issued on August 1. “The proposal was unanimously rejected by UEFA’s national associations and by many other federations and confederations of all sizes around the world, whose job it is to protect football,” UEFA said in the statement. The body added that it will begin work immediately with partners and stakeholders all over the world to propose a new way of distributing resources through the existing FIFA Forward programme. UEFA’s position came after FIFA abandoned the project due to similar criticism from the Asian Football Confederation and reservations from other groups.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced on Saturday that the organisation was abandoning the plan to open itself to private sector investors. “After carefully listening to all points of view, it became clear that the project had created divisions that no longer served the fundamental purpose for which it was launched,” Infantino said. The decision followed criticism from the Asian Football Confederation and reservations from other federations, according to a Qatar News Agency report from August 1.
The initial proposal, detailed in a FIFA release on July 28, called for the creation of a subsidiary valued at 20 billion dollars to manage commercial rights for competitions including the World Cup. FIFA data places the potential raise from minority stakes at 4.2 billion dollars, which would support an increase in development funding to more than 10 billion dollars over four years. The plan would have provided enhanced allocations to each of FIFA’s 211 member associations.
FIFA Forward has supplied up to 8 million dollars per member association during the 2023-2026 cycle for operations, infrastructure and other projects, according to the organisation’s programme overview. The third edition of the programme launched in January 2023 with the goal of offering comprehensive support tailored to each national federation and confederation. UEFA’s statement indicated the focus would now shift to improving distribution methods within this framework.
The withdrawal comes amid additional pressure on FIFA following the recent resignation of chief advisor Carlos Cordeiro. Last Tuesday’s unveiling of the funding increase plan had drawn widespread criticism regarding both its substance and presentation. Infantino’s reversal aims to address the concerns raised by various stakeholders in the sport.
A FIFA assessment found that the programme has funded projects ranging from stadium builds to youth academies in regions across all confederations. The European confederation’s pledge to collaborate on resource distribution through FIFA Forward follows the abandonment of the private investment element that had divided member associations. FIFA figures show the current cycle allocations form the baseline for any proposed expansions in support for global football development.
