Gianni Infantino has withdrawn FIFA Forward Enterprise after plans to sell a stake in a new $20bn World Cup business divided the game.
FIFA has dropped its controversial plan to sell a minority stake in a new company set up to run the commercial and operational side of the World Cup and other major tournaments.
President Gianni Infantino confirmed that the FIFA Forward Enterprise project “will not proceed” after accepting that the plan had created divisions across the global game.
The idea was to create a subsidiary worth about $20 billion, with up to 20 per cent offered to outside investors. FIFA hoped this would bring in as much as $4.2bn, money that would have gone towards boosting development funding for its 211 member associations.
In a statement by FIFA, attributable to the FIFA president, Infantino maintained that the project had been designed to strengthen football in countries where financial support was most needed.
“The FIFA Forward Enterprise project was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening our FIFA Member Associations and our sport worldwide, especially in those countries where support is most needed,” he said.
Infantino added that FIFA had always intended to proceed only with majority support from its member associations and following consultation with the FIFA Council, confederations and wider stakeholders.
But that support never came. Instead, the proposal sparked a fierce backlash from some of the most powerful governing bodies in football.
UEFA and all 55 of its member associations unanimously rejected the plan, with the European confederation announcing that its nations would not participate in FIFA competitions if the project continued.
Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation also voiced their objections, piling more pressure on FIFA to call a halt to the process.
Infantino has now admitted that pressing ahead would have gone against FIFA’s own goal of using investment to strengthen and unite the game.
“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,” he said.
“Our purpose has always been - and will always be - to unite and improve.
“As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”
The withdrawal brings a sudden end to a plan that had only just been announced days earlier.
FIFA argued that bringing in private investment would unlock more commercial value from the World Cup, Club World Cup and other competitions, all without giving up control over football’s rules or tournament formats.
But critics questioned how the consultation was handled, what kind of influence outside investors might gain, and whether FIFA should be offering up ownership stakes in its biggest competitions at all.
The row quickly turned into one of the biggest governance battles of Infantino’s time in charge, with European nations even threatening to pull out of FIFA tournaments.
Infantino has now indicated that FIFA will seek to repair those relationships.
“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.”
With the sale now off the table, the threat of a boycott has faded for now. But the speed of FIFA’s retreat leaves Infantino with some tough questions about how such a major project got this far without the backing of key confederations.
