Fifa insists it is ‘not selling football’ after Uefa-led revolt over new commercial project

Fifa has hit back at fierce criticism from Uefa and other confederations over its proposed “Fifa Forward Enterprise” project, insisting “no one is selling football” and stressing that only its 211 member associations can decide the plan’s fate through a democratic process.

The world governing body issued a detailed clarification after several confederations, led by Uefa, objected strongly to the initiative and warned they would boycott all Fifa competitions if it goes ahead unchanged.

In a formal statement, Fifa said it had “listened to the comments and concerns” raised by the confederations about the proposed establishment of Fifa Forward Enterprise, and moved to “address the issues that have arisen since last Tuesday’s initial media reports”, which it described as inaccurate and disruptive.

Fifa argued that the consultation process around the project had been “disrupted by incorrect media reports”, and pledged to press on with discussions so that every member association can vote “on the basis of facts”.

‘No one is selling football’

Central to Fifa’s response was a categorical denial that the project amounts to the commercial sale of the sport.

“The project has been proposed solely to ensure that all Fifa member associations have the opportunity to hold meaningful commercial ownership of football in their countries,” the statement said, adding that this would not come “at the expense of the spirit of football or its governance, nor the governance of Fifa itself”.

Directly addressing speculation, Fifa stated: “No one is selling football. This is something that Fifa would never even contemplate.”

Fifa also underlined what it described as the democratic rights of all stakeholders, while implicitly rejecting the idea that any single confederation can claim to speak for the entire global game.

“Everyone has the right to express opposition and to request further clarification,” Fifa said. “But no single entity can claim to represent all 211 member associations around the world. Each member association must be allowed to review the proposal and have a say in shaping its own future. These are Fifa’s democratic principles.”

How Fifa Forward Enterprise would work

Fifa set out more technical details of the proposed structure, explaining that Fifa Forward Enterprise would transfer the commercial and organisational activities involved in staging Fifa events into a permanently Fifa-owned and Fifa-managed subsidiary.

According to the proposal, the additional commercial value generated by this new vehicle would be distributed among all 211 member associations, enabling each of them “to invest in a tangible way in football in their own country”.

Fifa said that, under the plan, every member association would receive US$20m in development funding from the existing Fifa Forward programme over the four-year cycle from 2027 to 2030, regardless of whether that association supports the new project.

This increase, Fifa added, would come from “additional revenues generated by Fifa Forward Enterprise” through what it called more effective management of Fifa’s commercial operations for the benefit of all members.

One-off ‘Fifa Fast Forward’ scheme

The global body also outlined a complementary initiative, the “Fifa Fast Forward” programme, described as an exceptional, one-off development allocation worth a further US$20m for each member association, should the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal proceed.

Participation in Fifa Fast Forward would be “entirely optional” for all member associations. Fifa said the scheme would be financed through external investment, but stressed this would not involve giving up control or altering Fifa’s governance structure “in any way”.

Fifa reiterated that without the backing of a majority of member associations, its commercial activities would “remain unchanged” and Fifa Forward Enterprise would not be created.

Consultation still at an early stage

The organisation emphasised that all financial and structural components outlined so far are only the starting point for discussions.

Fifa said these elements are “on the table for debate” as part of the consultation process and could be “approved, rejected or amended – in whole or individually – for each item”.

It concluded by framing the entire proposal around three core principles: providing “unprecedented development funding”, ensuring “genuine global ownership of the commercial opportunities of our sport”, and delivering “full self-determination through a democratic process for every member association”.