FIFA’s proposal to sell stakes in its competitions to private investors has been opposed by the Asian Football Confederation, UEFA, and CONCACAF. This is a new blow to the controversial economic intentions of the governing body.
The AFC said that FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s proposal could not “realistically achieve the necessary broad consensus and unity required to move forward” and that it “stands in solidarity” with UEFA and Concacaf in a statement issued on Friday.
The AFC declared, “The FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of global football and derives its strength from the participation of all confederations and the world’s leading football nations.”
“Any proposal that could jeopardize the competition’s cohesion and universal nature needs to be reevaluated.”
If the idea is put to a vote, the AFC’s position greatly reduces the possibility that it will be accepted.
According to Infantino, the proposal would need the support of at least 106 of FIFA’s 211 member associations in order to pass with a simple majority. The AFC represents 46 member associations, while UEFA and Concacaf collectively have 90 votes.
FIFA was also chastised by the Asian governing body for not adequately consulting stakeholders prior to the proposal’s announcement.
It accused the global governing organization of ignoring confederations, member associations, and even FIFA’s own governing bodies, such as the FIFA Council, and claimed that the lack of consultation had “exposed fundamental weaknesses in FIFA’s consultation and decision-making processes.”
The statement went on, “The AFC calls upon FIFA to undertake an urgent review of its governance and decision-making framework to ensure that proposals of global significance are developed through proper consultation, meaningful engagement, and appropriate oversight by FIFA’s statutory bodies.”
The most recent rejection follows Concacaf’s announcement that its 41 member associations had similarly rejected the proposal, and UEFA’s vote to boycott future FIFA World Cups if it moves forward.
FIFA has maintained that it will pursue the idea in spite of the mounting opposition. The organization declared in a statement on Friday that “nobody is selling football” and insisted that the governance and principles of the sport would not be jeopardized by establishing a commercial subsidiary to oversee its big events.
According to the plan, FIFA would create a commercial organization to manage important competitions, such as the FIFA World Cup, and outside investors would be permitted to purchase shares in the company.
FIFA claims the action will improve its business operations, but others claim the proposal was created without sufficient consultation and could jeopardize global football’s unity and governance.
The Confederation of African Football and the Oceania Football Confederation are scheduled to examine the plan in August, but CONMEBOL, the governing body for South America, has not yet made its stance public.
