The World’s football governing body, FIFA has reacted to the anger about a plan to privatize its competitions by saying that it would proceed with consultations.
The 55 member associations (MAs) of European football voted on Thursday to boycott World Cups if Fifa continued with the plan.
Concacaf, the governing body of football in North and Central America, said that its 41 MAs had also “rejected” the plan.
FIFA’s Official Defense
Fifa said in response: “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.
“Nobody is selling football,” it insisted.
Fifa is looking forward to establishing a commercial subsidiary that will handle all of its major tournaments and external parties can invest in the company, per BBC Sport.
Fifa revealed that it will “involve third parties in making minority, non-controlling investments” in a new subsidiary company called the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE).
How the FIFA Congress Decides
For the idea to be implemented, it must be approved by a vote from Fifa’s 211 member countries.
Infantino requires 106 votes in favor of his suggestion and 96 member associations comprising those of Uefa and Concacaf are bound to reject it.
In its statement, Fifa said: “We respect the feedback and concern aired in public and reaffirm our commitment to an open and democratic consultation.”
“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.”
