FIFA defends World Cup investment pllan, says ‘Nobody Is Selling Football’ amid UEFA boycott threat

FIFA has defended its plan to bring private investment into the World Cup, insisting it is not selling football after facing intense criticism over a proposal to let private investors acquire stakes in the tournament.

The governing body’s Friday statement pushed back on days of backlash sparked by reports that it intended to create a new commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE.

FFE would be a new FIFA-owned commercial subsidiary that could sell a minority stake to outside investors, though FIFA maintains the entity would remain permanently owned and controlled by FIFA.

The controversy escalated sharply after UEFA and its member federations threatened a boycott.

UEFA’s 55 member associations said they would not take part in any FIFA tournament until the plan was withdrawn, with the confederation describing its opposition as unanimous and unequivocal.

According to FIFA, UEFA argued that football’s flagship competitions should never become investment vehicles and criticised FIFA for a lack of transparency in developing the proposal.

FIFA, for its part, blamed the uproar on distorted coverage, claiming its planned consultation process was disrupted by incorrect media reports.

Despite the pressure, FIFA has not scrapped the initiative. The organisation said the proposal is designed to generate additional commercial revenue that would be redistributed across its membership rather than benefit private investors alone, and stressed the move would significantly boost development funding.

However, FIFA also signalled it would not act without broad backing, noting that without the support of the majority of member associations, its commercial activities would remain unchanged and FFE would not be established.

Any European boycott would first affect the Women’s Under-20 World Cup, due to be staged in Poland in September.