Zurich, Switzerland: FIFA has defended its proposal to sell minority stakes in a new commercial subsidiary, insisting that "nobody is selling football" and saying the consultation process with its member associations will continue.
In a clarification issued on Friday, the world football governing body said the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) would remain under FIFA's ownership and control, and that it would "never entertain" the idea of selling football to private investors.
FIFA said the initiative is intended to ensure that all 211 member associations benefit from the commercial growth of the sport without compromising "the spirit or the governance of FIFA or football itself".
On Tuesday, FIFA announced plans to establish FIFA Forward Enterprise, a subsidiary that would manage the governing body's commercial rights, including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing, along with the operational delivery of its tournaments.
Under the proposal, FIFA aims to raise up to 4.2 billion US dollars by selling minority, non-controlling stakes in the new entity, which it values at approximately 20 billion US dollars.
The proposal triggered criticism from across the football community, particularly from UEFA, which argued that FIFA was effectively putting the sport's flagship competitions up for sale.
UEFA said on Thursday that its member associations had unanimously voted to boycott the FIFA World Cup and all other FIFA competitions in protest against the proposal.
CONCACAF, the governing body for football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, also expressed "deep concerns", citing a lack of due process, a short consultation period and the absence of review by FIFA's governance bodies.
Responding to the criticism, FIFA said on its official FIFA Media X account that it had taken note of the concerns raised by the confederations.
"We have heard the feedback provided by the respective confederations in relation to the proposed establishment of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) and would like to address the issues that have surfaced since the initial media reporting on Tuesday," the statement said.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino's administration said it remained committed to an open and democratic consultation process.
"Our planned consultation process was disrupted by incorrect media reports. We will proceed with this consultation process to ensure that each member association has the ability to express its vote based on facts," FIFA said.
The governing body added that FFE had been proposed solely to ensure that all member associations have meaningful ownership of football's commercial opportunities in their respective countries.
"Nobody is selling football. This is not something FIFA would ever entertain," the statement said.
FIFA also said that no single organisation could claim to represent all 211 member associations.
"Everyone has the right to express their opposition and to seek further clarification, but no single entity can claim to represent all 211 member associations around the world. Each member association should be allowed to review the proposal and have a say in shaping their own future. These are the democratic principles of FIFA," it added.
According to FIFA, the proposal would:
FIFA also proposed a voluntary FIFA Fast Forward Programme, under which each member association could receive an additional 20 million US dollars in one-off development funding if the proposal is approved.
The governing body said this programme would be financed through external investment without giving up control or altering FIFA's governance structure.
FIFA stressed that if a majority of member associations do not support the proposal, its existing commercial structure will remain unchanged.
"Without the support of the majority of member associations, FIFA's commercial activities would remain unchanged. FFE would not be established," it said.
Concluding the statement, FIFA said all aspects of the proposal remain open for discussion during the consultation process and could be approved, rejected or amended by its members.
"These principles underpin the FFE proposal: unprecedented development funding, truly global ownership of the commercial opportunities of our sport, and full self-determination through a democratic process for all member associations," the statement said.