UEFA to Meet Over FIFA's Plan to Sell Competition Stakes

UEFA’s 55 member associations will have an emergency meeting later this week. They will talk about FIFA’s plan to sell parts of its main competitions to outside investors.

The online meeting follows FIFA's announcement about starting a new commercial branch. This branch will manage major tournaments like the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup. FIFA says that outside investors can buy stakes in this new branch to help raise more money for football worldwide.

FIFA claims this plan will help it boost global development funding to $10 billion. It also says each of its 211 member associations could get up to $20 million in a one-time capital injection.

According to BBC Sport on Wednesday, UEFA has reacted strongly against these plans. UEFA issued a rare public statement criticizing the proposal even before FIFA shared it. The governing body of European football said the plans have "crossed a line" and warned that they could give private investors too much power over the biggest competitions in the sport.

The Football Association in England has also raised concerns. They said they were not consulted before FIFA made its announcement.

This emergency meeting will help UEFA members come together for a response. Reports suggest they might even discuss a possible boycott, but no decision has been made yet.

UEFA thinks its member associations are key to the success of FIFA competitions. European teams have done well in recent World Cups. For instance, six of the eight quarter-finalists in this year’s tournament were from Europe, including the champions, Spain.

Critics are also worried that this proposal might lead to more frequent World Cups and bigger tournaments. FIFA might do this to increase commercial revenue, which could put more stress on an already busy international football schedule.

This latest disagreement highlights the ongoing tension between FIFA and UEFA. This comes after past conflicts over plans to hold the World Cup every two years and other controversial choices around this summer’s tournament.