Several media outlets reported on Thursday that UEFA had called an afternoon meeting of its 55 members to discuss a response to FIFA's plans to create a new commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion (roughly €17.5 billion) and sell a non-controlling minority stake of it to investors.
UEFA, European football's governing body, came out publicly in opposition to the plan within an hour of it first being reported by the Financial Times and Times on Monday.
Shortly after the newspaper reports, FIFA, the sport's global governing body, issued a statement in which it confirmed the plan. In a later statement, it gave FIFA's 211 member associations until September 19 to express their written support for the scheme. The proposal requires a simple majority and approval from the FIFA Council to pass.
UEFA doubled down on its criticism after learning of the deadline, saying: "Today we have learned of FIFA's deadline to associations to support their proposals or have the one-off payout offer withdrawn. This says everything you need to know about this plan.Aleksander Ceferin's UEFA has been at loggerheads with FIFA for some timeImage: Mike Egerton/PA/picture alliance
It added that talks with many stakeholders showed that "there is significant and growing opposition to FIFA's scheme. FIFA cannot to use our sport to enrich themselves and their friends."
