Pushback to a controversial plan put forward by FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to sell off stakes in the World Cup and other commercial operations to private investors is growing.
European soccer governing body UEFA has called an emergency meeting of its members on Thursday to discuss a coordinated response to the plan, with a European boycott of FIFA tournaments among the options being discussed.
UEFA has condemned Infantino’s proposal, calling it a plan to “sell the soul” of football. Other major regional soccer bodies, including the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Concacaf, which covers North and Central America as well as the Caribbean confederations, have also criticized the proposals, saying they were not consulted on the plan and only became aware of it through the media.
The plan would see FIFA set up a new entity, called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), that would bundle all the money-making operations associated with the soccer World Cup — including broadcast rights, sponsorship, ticket sales and licensing fees — and sell a significant stake in the new operation to private investors. Thrive Capital, an investment company founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, is leading the search for investors.
