Paris (France) (AFP) – European football’s governing body UEFA said on Thursday it would boycott the World Cup if FIFA pressed ahead with its private investor plan. “No UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership,” UEFA said in a statement. “The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product… No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.”
On Tuesday, football’s world governing body FIFA announced plans to create a commercial subsidiary to run its biggest events, such as the World Cup and Club World Cup. Under the proposal, private investors would be allowed to acquire stakes in the company but would remain minority shareholders, FIFA said. It hopes to raise up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20 billion for the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) initiative. If approved, the project could provide each of FIFA’s 211 member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027 and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8.0 million to $20 million. FIFA president Gianni Infantino described the initiative on Wednesday as a “golden opportunity to turbocharge the development of the game globally.”
But UEFA, whose president Aleksander Ceferin boycotted the World Cup final to show unhappiness with FIFA, argued: “This model has no place in world football. “Football’s future cannot be dictated by the expectations of those whose first duty is to maximise financial return.” Nor can the interests of national associations, leagues, clubs, players, and supporters become subordinate to investor returns. Football cannot mortgage its future for financial gain,” Ceferin said. “Europe’s position is clear. We will never lend this model our legitimacy. No one has the moral authority to sell what they merely hold in trust for the next generation.”
The FIFA proposal has drawn criticism from not only UEFA but also several leading European federations and European Union officials, who view it as another step in the commercialisation of sport and have raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest. The EU praised UEFA on Thursday for “defending the integrity of the game.” “I welcome this UEFA statement and fully support its position,” European commissioner for sports Glenn Micallef said in a social media post. “Proud to see Europe’s football associations leading on governance, standing firm on their principles,” he posted.
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have also expressed concern that the FIFA proposal was made public before all 211 member associations were fully consulted. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has urged its members to review FIFA’s divisive plan.
UEFA said in its statement on Thursday that the World Cup was “one of football’s greatest sporting legacies… built over generations by players, national teams and supporters across every continent.” “It is both irresponsible and indefensible that a proposal of such significance for football was conceived in secret and brought to the brink of approval without any meaningful consultation with those entrusted with stewarding the game,” UEFA said. “This is not merely a profound failure of leadership but an abdication of FIFA’s duty as the custodian of world football. National associations around the world are now presented with an ultimatum — accept the irreversible capture of football’s greatest competitions or bear the consequences.”
“This is not a ‘democratic decision’ but governance by intimidation — an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game.” UEFA added: “Nobody should be in any doubt — UEFA and its national associations will oppose these plans with absolute determination. There are moments when institutions are judged not by what they are prepared to accept but by what they refuse to compromise. This is one of those moments.”
“Some things are simply too important to sell. The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.”
© 2024 AFP
