July 31 (Reuters) – FIFA said on Friday it would push ahead with consultations on a plan to bring private investment into the World Cup despite European football threatening a boycott and other regional confederations rebuking the global soccer body’s plans.
Switzerland-based FIFA said “incorrect media reports” this week had disrupted its planned consultation process but that it would press on with putting the controversial proposal in front of its 211 national football member associations.
“We will proceed with this consultation process to ensure that each MA (Member Association) has the ability to express its vote based on facts,” it said in a statement issued in the middle of the European night.
FIFA has proposed creating a $20-billion subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), to run the World Cup and its other events, with a stake of up to 20% to be offered to external investors.
Thrive Eternal, a fund run by Thrive Capital, founded by Joshua Kushner, is expected to lead the proposed investor group, FIFA said. Joshua is the brother of Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
UEFA LEADS OPPOSITION TO FIFA WORLD CUP PLAN
The European football association, UEFA, has led the widespread opposition to the proposal, accusing FIFA of putting the sport’s “soul” up for sale.
On Thursday, UEFA’s 55 member nations voted unanimously to boycott all FIFA tournaments, less than two weeks after Spain were crowned World Cup champions.
“Nobody is selling football. This is not something FIFA would ever entertain,” FIFA responded in Friday’s statement.
“Everyone has the right to express their opposition and to seek further clarification but no single entity can claim to represent all 211 MAs around the world.
“Each MA should be allowed to review the proposal and have a say in shaping their own future. These are the democratic principles of FIFA.”
CONCACAF, the regional federation for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, rejected the proposal during a meeting on Thursday but the 41-member body did not follow UEFA with a boycott threat.
The Asian Football Confederation, comprised of 47 members, issued a statement on Friday saying it “stands in solidarity” with UEFA and CONCACAF, but also stopped short of threatening a boycott.
The AFC, which has not historically been as frequent or vehement a critic of FIFA as its European counterpart UEFA, questioned the viability of the proposal following an overwhelmingly negative response.
It also raised doubts over FIFA’s decision-making processes in a thinly-veiled attack on the governing body’s president, Gianni Infantino.
FIFA SAYS PROCESS IS A DEMOCRATIC ONE
This week, Infantino said in a letter to all member associations that they would receive $40 million each if they agreed to FIFA’s proposal by September 19.
On Friday, FIFA stressed that it would not go ahead with the plan without the support of the majority of its member associations.
“These principles underpin the FFE proposal: unprecedented development funding, truly global ownership of the commercial opportunities of our sport, and full self-determination through a democratic process for all MAs,” FIFA said.
UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC combined have 143 associations, well over half of FIFA’s 211 members.
However, not all individual member nations would be certain to follow their federations’ line.
Czech Football Association President David Trunda told Sky Sports that he could see the “positive impact of FIFA’s intentions”, while the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) said it would study the proposal before deciding its position, despite CONCACAF’s rejection.
XABI ALONSO SAYS FOOTBALL IS FOR THE FANS
Xabi Alonso, a World Cup winner with Spain in 2010, said on Friday that football had to prioritise the people who watch the game, not private interests.
“The way we love football is like this, and we have just seen a great World Cup. If things stay this way, then good. We have to defend the interests of all the people,” the Chelsea coach told reporters in Sydney.
“I think that it’s the common feeling of football people that we want something that we keep in the hands of everyone, that it’s for all the people. So, hopefully it won’t happen.
“And we will do it, we will keep the game as attractive and as authentic as we like it. That’s why it creates this emotion, this passion we’ve seen at the World Cup.”
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne and Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Kevin Liffey and Clare Fallon)
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