UEFA has unanimously rejected FIFA’s proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project and warned that European associations would not participate in FIFA competitions while the initiative remains in place, escalating opposition to the governing body’s plans to create a new commercial entity for the business operations of the World Cup and other competitions.
“UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions,” UEFA said in a statement.
The European governing body argued that “the World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of football’s greatest sporting legacies. It has been built over generations by players, national teams and supporters across every continent. No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.”
UEFA had already voiced concerns earlier this week after details of the proposal emerged through media reports before FIFA officially unveiled the project, saying it crossed “a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross” and arguing that “the FIFA World Cup belongs to football.”
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Since then, FIFA has formally circulated the proposal to stakeholders, including UEFA, CONCACAF, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and its member associations as part of an ongoing consultation process.
Other confederations have also expressed reservations. CONCACAF said its member associations were concerned about what it described as a lack of due process, the short consultation timeline, and the absence of review through FIFA’s established governance bodies. The confederation said its FIFA Council representatives would engage with FIFA to explore alternative ways of increasing development funding while ensuring the proposal follows the organization’s statutory procedures.
The AFC also rejected the proposal and called for an “urgent review” of FIFA’s governance framework, saying recent events had highlighted shortcomings in the organization’s consultation and decision-making processes.
FIFA has defended the initiative, insisting that “nobody is selling football” and attributing part of the criticism to what it described as erroneous media reporting.
“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,” FIFA said in its latest statement published on Friday, July 31.
The consultation process remains ongoing. On Wednesday, CAF confirmed it had received FIFA’s proposal and announced that its Executive Committee would meet next week to assess and evaluate the initiative before continuing consultations with its member associations and other stakeholders.
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Under the proposal, FIFA would retain majority ownership of FIFA Forward Enterprise while selling minority, non-controlling stakes to long-term investors. FIFA says the initiative is intended to strengthen investment in football development while preserving its exclusive authority over competitions, governance, the international match calendar, and all sporting and regulatory decisions.
The governing body has said the new entity would have an initial equity valuation of $20 billion. Each of FIFA’s 211 member associations would also be offered a one-time opportunity to acquire a $20 million stake, with the overall initiative expected to increase development funding to more than $10 billion over the next four years.
