Football Groups Want FIFA to Review Failed Deal

The Asian Football Confederation, UEFA, and CONCACAF have called for an independent review of FIFA’s failed attempt to sell a stake in a company that would manage the rights to the World Cup and other big tournaments.

The three football groups made this request in a joint letter released on Monday. This follows FIFA’s choice to cancel the deal after facing strong pushback from football stakeholders.

The letter, which UEFA shared on its website, said the proposal was a “profound failure of judgment” and a “fundamental breach of trust” with the organizations FIFA is supposed to support.

It was signed by AFC President Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, and the general secretaries of the three confederations: Datuk Seri Windsor John, Philippe Moggio, and Theodore Theodoridis.

The confederations disagreed with FIFA’s claim that the issue was a failure of communication. They said the proposal was pushed forward without proper consultation and on a tight schedule that did not allow enough time for member associations to review it.

“FIFA’s recent letter to its Vice-Presidents and 211 Member Associations acknowledges that mistakes were made in the process. It treats this as a failure of communication, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment,” the letter said.

The confederations added that the idea to sell a part of the FIFA World Cup was wrong. They insisted that any examination of the process should be done by an independent third party.

“FIFA has also committed to presenting a full report on these events to the FIFA Council, once again failing to recognise that proper governance in the face of such a profound lack of judgment would require that such a review be conducted by a fully independent third party, not by FIFA itself,” they stated.

They further emphasized that FIFA’s staff and other football stakeholders should not be involved in the review.

This disagreement started after FIFA President Gianni Infantino proposed in late July to set up FIFA Forward Enterprise. This new company was meant to manage the rights to the World Cup and other major tournaments.

The plan reportedly included selling about 20 percent of the company to private investors for around $4.2 billion. The money was supposed to go to national football associations.

The proposal faced strong resistance from UEFA, CONCACAF, and the AFC. They argued that the World Cup’s commercial rights should not be opened to private investment without proper discussions with the football community.

FIFA then dropped the plan at the end of July after the backlash.

In their letter, the confederations also raised concerns about a recent leadership meeting in Morocco. They noted that only one elected official attended and that no FIFA Council members or member associations were invited.

“Only the management committee, composed of FIFA-employed senior staff, was present,” they said.

They criticized the choice to bring some members of FIFA’s Management Committee abroad instead of having the meeting at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.

The confederations said this situation added to their worries about how FIFA handled the issue.

“This is about something more fundamental: the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it,” they said.

“Football’s strength has always been its unity. We call for that unity to be honoured now, for leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it.”

On Saturday, it was reported that FIFA pledged to resist what it called a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine President Gianni Infantino. They insisted he is still democratically elected and has support from its 211 member associations.

In a statement, FIFA rejected any calls or processes that do not follow its rules and democratic procedures. They dismissed recent claims and reports as unsubstantiated or false.

FIFA said it welcomes legitimate scrutiny but will challenge any inaccurate or misleading reporting. They added that disagreements over Infantino’s reforms should not be used to weaken his position.