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Fifa will continue consultation on selling World Cup stakes despite boycott
Uefa members agreed to boycott all Fifa tournaments, including World Cups, unless the proposal is dropped, after Fifa said media reports derailed its consultation process.
Fifa says it will proceed with an open and democratic consultation over plans to sell parts of the World Cup, even after Uefa member associations agreed to boycott all Fifa tournaments unless the proposal is abandoned. According to the Guardian Business, the federation framed the backlash as a response to “incorrect media reports” that disrupted its planned consultation process.
Fifa said it would respect public feedback and reaffirm its commitment to the consultation. The move followed a European bloc decision taken after an emergency meeting on Thursday, with Uefa accusing Fifa of putting football’s “soul” up for sale, Concacaf opposing the plan, and the AFC criticizing the lack of consultation details.
The proposal centers on creating a new commercial entity, Fifa Forward Enterprise, to oversee commercial and event operations. The plan would offer external investors stakes of up to 20%, with the expected external funding intended to deliver millions of dollars in extra support to each national federation.
The Guardian Business added that Fifa’s stance lands as a blow to Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who has backed the idea publicly, and comes amid criticism from confederations including the AFC, which said not being consulted in advance was “totally unacceptable.”