Concacaf says it rejects FIFA’s proposal to sell World Cup stakes
· Yahoo Sports
Concacaf, the soccer confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean, says it rejects FIFA’s plans to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
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All 41 members of Concacaf met on Thursday to discuss the proposals.
One source with knowledge of the meeting, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, said the feeling and discussion expressed among the vast majority of Concacaf members was that they are losing confidence, or have lost confidence altogether in Gianni Infantino as FIFA President. A second person considered that to be a slightly stronger description of the meeting than they took away from it, but acknowledged widespread concerns over the current FIFA approach to leadership and transparency.
Concacaf released a statement following the meeting announcing it rejected the proposals, which came after European football’s governing body UEFA announced that all 55 European members would boycott all FIFA competitions including the World Cup unless the governing body’s plans were abandoned.
A Concacaf statement read: “During the meeting, the membership expressed deep concerns about the lack of due process surrounding the proposal, the artificially short deadline imposed, and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governance bodies. In addition, the need for private equity investment to fund new and existing FIFA Forward programs following the most profitable FIFA World Cup in history was questioned.
“The discussion reinforced the need for greater transparency and proper governance.
“For these reasons, Concacaf and its 41 Member Associations have: Rejected the proposal.
“Tasked their FIFA Council Members with engaging FIFA to determine how existing FIFA reserves could be used to increase FIFA Forward funding for football development across our region.
“And tasked their FIFA Council Members with instructing the FIFA President to ensure that any matter follows the proper governance processes via staff and FIFA Council, in accordance with the FIFA Statutes.”
Concacaf has previously strongly condemned the manner in which FIFA introduced the idea. It met on Wednesday night too, and there had been concerns raised about process, governance and why a cash-rich FIFA requires external investment.
Concacaf member associations hosted last year’s Club World Cup and this summer’s men’s World Cup. The 2031 Women’s World Cup will also be hosted by Concacaf member associations the U.S., Mexico, Jamaica and Costa Rica.
FIFA announced its proposal on Tuesday to sell a significant minority stake in a new entity that it, as a non-profit organisation, is setting up to run its main events, such as the World Cups and Club World Cups.
The new entity would be called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE) and would take over FIFA’s commercial operations, with the organisation itself remaining soccer’s global governing body and retaining a majority stake in FFE. A press release from FIFA said it was seeking to sell up to 21 per cent of FFE, aiming to bring in $4.2billion (£3.2bn). That money could be immediately released to its member associations.
Following significant backlash, Infantino said in an interview with FIFA that the proposal was “not an obligation” and reiterated it would need a majority of its 211 member associations and the FIFA Council to be implemented.
Following Tuesday’s announcement, the Asian confederation also said it was “disappointed that a matter of such significance entered the public domain before the AFC family had been afforded the opportunity to examine and discuss it through the appropriate and established governance channels.”
The African confederation, however, commented to confirm its involvement in the consulting process, “encourag(ing) its Member Associations to examine” the proposals themselves.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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