UEFA has welcomed FIFA’s decision to abandon its controversial proposal to sell a stake in the commercial rights of the FIFA World Cup and other major competitions, describing the outcome as a significant victory for football and its global community.
The governing body for European football did not hold back in its response, praising supporters, leagues, clubs, national associations and political leaders who publicly opposed the plan while also launching a fresh attack on FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s leadership.
The decision marks the end of a turbulent chapter that sparked widespread backlash across world football after FIFA proposed creating FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a commercial entity designed to attract billions of dollars in private investment through minority ownership.
The proposal was met with fierce resistance from UEFA, several continental confederations and fan organizations, all of whom argued that football’s biggest competitions should never become investment assets.
In a strongly worded statement, UEFA credited the football community for helping force FIFA to reverse course.
“UEFA thanks all the fans, leagues, clubs, players, individuals, associations and confederations that opposed the scheme, alongside the many Prime Ministers, heads of state and commentators who have demonstrated to the FIFA president that football is not for sale,” said the European governing body.
UEFA described the collapse of the proposal as proof that football’s stakeholders remain committed to protecting the integrity of the sport from excessive commercial influence.
Despite welcoming FIFA’s decision, UEFA insisted the episode exposed deeper governance concerns that cannot simply be forgotten.
The statement criticized what it described as secretive decision-making and pledged to work with member associations and other football confederations to prevent similar proposals from emerging without proper consultation.
“We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account,” said UEFA.
“It is right that, in the coming days and weeks, UEFA will work with its associations and in close cooperation with other confederations to reflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again.
“That review should be thorough and fundamental. No option should be off the table. The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.”
UEFA also reminded the football world of the commitments Gianni Infantino made when he first sought the FIFA presidency in 2016.
Quoting his campaign pledges on transparency and financial stewardship, UEFA argued that those promises had not been fulfilled.
The statement read: “When Gianni Infantino asked for the trust and the votes of FIFA’s Member Associations to elect him as their president in 2016, he said, ‘Of course we have to be transparent. I have been this in the last 15 years of my life in UEFA.
“You will have to play a part every day in the life of FIFA’ – before telling the assembled stakeholders, ‘The money of FIFA is your money. It’s not the money of the FIFA president. It’s your money.
“You are the national associations and the money of FIFA has to serve for the development of football and not for anything else’.”
UEFA then delivered one of its strongest criticisms yet of the FIFA president.
“On both these promises, he has failed to deliver. The shabby, back-room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through were anything but transparent.”
Beyond rejecting private investment, UEFA argued that FIFA already possesses the financial resources needed to grow the game worldwide.
With FIFA reportedly holding reserves exceeding $5 billion, UEFA called for greater investment through the existing FIFA Forward programme instead of creating new commercial structures.
The governing body stated: “And with reserves standing at over $5bn, he has also failed to use associations’ money for the benefit of the game.
“UEFA will begin work immediately with partners and stakeholders all over the world and right across the game to propose a new way of distributing resources through the existing FIFA Forward programme.
“We must start to use some of that money that is sat idle in FIFA’s bank account to deliver the kick-start that the grassroots and the wider game need in each of the 211 countries of FIFA. But we don’t need to sell off the family silver to pay for it.”
Although UEFA celebrated FIFA’s decision to withdraw the proposal, it stressed that the issue extends far beyond a single policy.
For the European governing body, restoring trust, transparency and accountability within FIFA has now become the next major challenge.
“This is a victory for the whole game. But it must not be the end of the story. The proposal has gone. The task of rebuilding trust in FIFA has only just begun,” the statement concluded.
With the controversial investment plan now shelved, attention will shift to how FIFA rebuilds relationships with its member associations and whether future governance reforms can restore confidence across the global football landscape.
Toosin is a dedicated sports writer with a strong background in crafting engaging and insightful content. With experience at Goal, he has developed a sharp editorial sense and a refined storytelling approach that brings depth and perspective to sports journalism. His passion for the game goes beyond the headlines, as he captures both the excitement of the sport and the compelling human narratives behind each event. Toosin’s work resonates with a broad and diverse audience, making global sports stories accessible, relatable, and impactful.
