🚨 Backlash continues: a third confederation rejects FIFA's plan! | OneFootball

Another setback for FIFA and Infantino.

Just hours after announcing its intention to "continue the process" of FFE, aimed at selling stakes in the World Cup to private investors, FIFA has suffered another blow.

After UEFA and CONCACAF, it is now the AFC, the Asian confederation, that has voiced its opposition to Gianni Infantino and FIFA’s plan.

The AFC said it was joining "UEFA and CONCACAF in expressing its serious concerns regarding FIFA’s proposal to introduce private investment into its flagship competitions and the decision-making process related to FFE".

In addition, the Asian confederation blasted the organization’s methods and called on "FIFA to undertake an urgent review of its governance and decision-making framework to ensure that proposals of global significance are developed through proper consultation, meaningful engagement, and adequate oversight by FIFA’s statutory bodies."

According to it, "such an approach undermines trust in FIFA’s governance framework and diminishes the authority of its statutory bodies."

The AFC statement can be read in full below:

"The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has observed with deep concern the developments of recent days regarding the proposal to create FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) and the uncertainty that has emerged within the global football community.

The AFC joins UEFA and CONCACAF in expressing its serious concerns regarding FIFA’s proposal to introduce private investment into its flagship competitions and the decision-making process related to FFE. The fact that the situation has reached a point where the real possibility of a boycott of the FIFA World Cup is being publicly discussed should worry everyone who cares about the future of our sport. Football should never have found itself in such a situation.

In this context, and given the clear positions expressed by UEFA and CONCACAF, as well as the unprecedented divisions that have emerged in the football world, the AFC believes that the proposed FFE cannot reasonably achieve the broad consensus and unity necessary for its development. The FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of global football and draws its strength from the participation of all confederations and the greatest footballing nations. Any proposal liable to compromise the unity and universal nature of the competition must be reconsidered.

While the current debate centers on FFE, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) believes that this issue goes far beyond a single proposal. It has in fact highlighted fundamental weaknesses in FIFA’s consultation and decision-making processes, which must now be addressed. Although the AFC notes FIFA’s latest clarifications regarding this proposal, the main concerns relating to governance, institutional process, and genuine consultation remain unanswered.

A proposal of such importance, capable of influencing the commercial, sporting, and strategic future of global football, must not be developed through processes that marginalize the Confederations, Member Associations, and even FIFA’s own governing bodies, including the FIFA Council. The primary objective of world football must be to ensure that decisions of this magnitude are made through transparent processes that enjoy the confidence of the football community.

This is not the first time that major stakeholders have been confronted with major initiatives when the direction to be taken appears already decided. Such an approach undermines trust in FIFA’s governance framework and diminishes the authority of its statutory bodies. No subsequent consultation, however well-intentioned, can replace early dialogue with FIFA’s competent bodies and the football family.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) believes that this moment should serve as a catalyst to strengthen institutional reform. While each FIFA Congress must have the opportunity to examine and rule on proposals affecting the future of global football, true democracy is not measured solely by the right to vote. It rests on transparent governance, timely consultation, informed deliberation, and effective participation throughout the decision-making process.

Accordingly, the AFC calls on FIFA to undertake an urgent review of its governance and decision-making framework to ensure that proposals of global significance are developed through proper consultation, meaningful engagement, and adequate oversight by FIFA’s statutory bodies.

The FIFA World Cup, and football in general, belong to the entire global football family. Their future must always be shaped collectively, through institutions that reflect the views of all confederations and football associations."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

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