UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF unite to challenge FIFA over governance | OneFootball

UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF have formed a united front against FIFA, issuing a rare joint statement after the FIFA Forward Enterprise project was withdrawn, shifting the row from finances to governance.

In the statement, the three bodies said they want an independent review of the process and clear explanations for how such a wide‑ranging proposal advanced without the usual checks.

FIFA had unveiled FIFA Forward Enterprise to consolidate and exploit commercial rights across its competitions, invite private investment in return for stakes, and, it said, generate billions of dollars to share with federations worldwide.

From the outset, concern focused less on revenue and more on limited information and oversight around a decision of that scale.

UEFA, led by Aleksander Ceferin, was first to object, with several European federations questioning transparency and even considering drastic steps if the plan went ahead.

Opposition then spread to the Asian confederation and CONCACAF, despite both being viewed as close to Gianni Infantino, and mounting pressure prompted FIFA to pull the proposal.

The withdrawal has not ended the dispute. The document shifts emphasis to how the plan was driven and hints at a breakdown of trust in Infantino’s leadership.

It frames the episode as a lapse in judgement rather than a communication error, describes consultation as too limited to allow proper scrutiny, and calls for leadership that serves the game instead of seeking to control it.

Source: Superdeporte

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”