North and Central America's football body has become the second confederation to reject FIFA president Gianni Infantino's plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, declaring that the future of the game "must remain in the hands of our football family."
CONCACAF said it had convened a meeting of the presidents of its 41 member associations on Thursday to discuss the proposal to establish the "FIFA Forward Enterprise" (FFE), a vehicle through which FIFA planned to sell equity in the World Cup to outside investors. After the meeting, the confederation announced that the proposal had been rejected.
In a statement, CONCACAF said members "expressed deep concerns about the lack of due process surrounding the proposal, the artificially short deadline imposed, and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governance bodies." The confederation also questioned the need for private-equity investment to fund FIFA Forward programmes, new and existing, "following the most profitable FIFA World Cup in history."
The move follows UEFA's threat to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions in protest at the plan. European nations agreed the same day to stay away if the project went ahead, leaving Infantino facing open opposition from two of the six confederations.
"CONCACAF is a confederation united by our love for our sport, where football comes first," the statement read. "Guided by this philosophy, over the past ten years we have built, from zero, an organization founded on service, transparency in management and the long-term protection of football."
The 41 member associations instructed CONCACAF's representatives on the FIFA Council to engage with FIFA on how the organization's substantial existing reserves could be used to increase FIFA Forward funding for football development in the region. They also tasked the Council members with directing the FIFA president to ensure any future proposal follows proper governance procedures, through FIFA staff and the Council, in accordance with the FIFA Statutes.
"With these actions, CONCACAF reaffirms that the future of football — and its most precious resource — must remain in the hands of our football family," the confederation said.
Infantino's plan, revealed earlier this week, would have spun off FIFA's commercial operations into the new FFE subsidiary, valued at $20 billion, with private investors taking a 20% stake. The proposal has triggered a wave of opposition across the game, with European associations and now CONCACAF publicly lining up against it.
Sources
