Czech FA breaks ranks with UEFA to back FIFA World Cup commercial spin-off plan

The Czech Football Association has publicly backed Gianni Infantino’s controversial plan to spin off the commercial rights to the World Cup into a new private company, in direct defiance of UEFA’s call for a European boycott of FIFA competitions.

The move delivers an early setback to UEFA’s attempt to present a united front, coming just hours after an emergency meeting in which the European governing body urged its 55 member associations to oppose FIFA’s new project.

Czech FA president David Trunda confirmed his federation’s initial support for the proposal, which would see FIFA create a company called “FIFA Forward Enterprise” to manage all of its revenue-generating activities, including the World Cup.

Trunda told Sky News he believed the plan could transform the sport domestically by unlocking fresh investment for facilities and youth development.

“I can see the development of Czech football through close work and cooperation with president Infantino and his team. We need more details, but I see a clearly positive effect in FIFA’s intentions in this new plan,” he said.

He added that his experience of working with FIFA since taking office had been overwhelmingly positive.

“Since my election more than a year ago, all the projects we have implemented in cooperation with FIFA have been extremely positive for the development of football,” Trunda said.

FIFA’s new company structure

FIFA announced on Tuesday that it will establish a new company to take control of all its profit-making operations.

Under the proposal, the entity would own the commercial rights to the World Cup, including broadcast rights, sponsorship contracts, ticketing and event organisation across FIFA’s portfolio of competitions.

FIFA plans to sell up to 20% of the company to external investors such as investment funds and private entities, while retaining an 80% majority shareholding and overall control of the business.

According to Trunda, the Czech FA believes the expected revenues from the arrangement could deliver “substantial funding” for infrastructure projects and grassroots and youth programmes in the country.

Direct challenge to UEFA strategy

UEFA, led by president Aleksander Ceferin, convened an emergency meeting on Thursday with all 55 European national associations to coordinate opposition to FIFA’s restructuring plan.

That gathering was aimed at building a common stance against what many European officials view as a risky move to partially privatise control over the game’s most lucrative assets.

The Czech declaration of support for the project therefore represents a clear breach of the European bloc’s emerging strategy and exposes divisions within UEFA’s membership over how to respond to FIFA’s latest commercial initiative.

While Trunda stressed that Prague still needs further clarification on the details of “FIFA Forward Enterprise”, he left little doubt about his federation’s direction of travel, aligning the Czech FA more closely with Infantino’s vision than with UEFA’s attempt at collective resistance.