The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is preparing to take decisive action against new commercial initiatives of FIFA. For information from ESPN, UEFA plans to hold an emergency virtual meeting with all 55 member associations to discuss a strong protest and a possible boycott..
FIFA President Gianni Infantino initiated the creation of a new organization - FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). This is to take control of commercial operations and the organization of key entries, including men and women world championships.
It appears that FIFA is already collaborating with the financial giant JP Morgan. Among potential investors is also the company Thrive Eternal, founded by Joshua Kushner (whose brother is the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump).
The initial valuation of FFE shares is $20 billion. Later, FIFA plans to earn up to $4.2 billion from the sale of minority shares to external investors. To secure support, FIFA pledges to increase payments to member countries for development programs. Instead of exactly $8 million in the 2027-2030 cycle of the federation, $20 million can be deducted, with further increases up to $24 million.
Infantino calls this period the democratization of football throughout the world, claiming that FIFA still retains exclusive control over management, business and sporting decisions. UEFA reacted harshly to these plans, declaring that such a deadline exceeds the limits of what is permitted for football governing institutions.
" None of us are the ruler of football. FIFA has no right to sell it,” reads the organization’s official statement.
The most important thing for the influx of Europe is to avoid the threat of a full-scale boycott of the World Cup. A similar tactic has already been used in 2021, when the harsh position of UEFA has made FIFA reluctant to consider the super-happy idea of \u200b\u200bholding world championships in two different editions.
Infantino's initiative also caused political resonance. The Prime Minister of Great Britain, Andy Burnham, became the first world leader to publicly condemn the proposal, writing in line X: “Football should not belong to investors.”.
Experts indicate that UEFA is deeply concerned about the political overtones - close attention to the strengthening of special ties between Infantino and Donald Trump after the recent World Cup.