The Asian Football Confederation said on Friday it “stands in solidarity” with regional bodies UEFA and CONCACAF in opposing plans to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors but stopped short of threatening to boycott events run by FIFA, global football’s governing body.
The confederation in a statement expressed “deep concern” about the proposed establishment of a $20 billion commercial subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), to run the World Cup and FIFA’s other events.
“The fact that the situation has reached the point where the real possibility of a FIFA World Cup boycott has entered public discourse should concern everyone who cares about the future of our game,” the statement said.
“Football should never have been placed in such a position.”
European football’s governing body UEFA said Thursday it would boycott the World Cup should FIFA press ahead with its private investor plan.
“No UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership,” UEFA said in a statement.
“The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product... No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.”
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) has also expressed concern that the proposal was made public before FIFA’s 211 member associations were fully consulted.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has called on its members to review FIFA’s controversial plan.
On Thursday, AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, had said the way the proposal had been made was “totally unacceptable” in a letter to member associations.
The AFC said that “the proposed FFE cannot realistically achieve the necessary broad consensus and unity required to move forward...
“The FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of global football and derives its strength from the participation of all confederations and the world’s leading football nations.”
The AFC also made a thinly-veiled attack on the governing body’s president, Gianni Infantino, saying the plan “has exposed fundamental weaknesses in FIFA’s consultation and decision-making processes that must now be addressed.”
Even after FIFA issued a new statement on Friday, saying that each national association “should be allowed to review the proposal and have a say in shaping their own future,” the AFC said “central concerns surrounding governance, institutional process and meaningful consultation remain unanswered.”
It said the furor must become a catalyst for institutional reform at FIFA, and that “meaningful democracy is not measured solely by the opportunity to vote.”
“It begins with transparent governance, timely consultation, informed deliberation and genuine participation throughout the decision-making process.”
