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Football's international governing body FIFA vowed on Friday to continue consulting its 211 member associations over a controversial plan to bring private investors into its commercial business, brushing aside mounting opposition from UEFA and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).
The move keeps alive FIFA's proposal to create FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a new commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion that would oversee the governing body's commercial rights and tournament operations, including the men's and women's World Cups.
In a statement, FIFA said inaccurate media reports had disrupted its consultation process and pledged to press ahead so member associations could vote based on facts rather than speculation.
"We respect the feedback and concern aired in public and reaffirm our commitment to an open and democratic consultation," FIFA said.
The governing body argued that FFE is intended to give all member associations greater access to football's commercial value while preserving FIFA's governance structure.
"Nobody is selling football. This is not something FIFA would ever entertain," it added.
Under the proposal, each member association would receive $20 million in FIFA Forward funding during the 2027-2030 cycle, regardless of its current level of support, along with the option to receive another $20 million through a one-off Fast Forward Program financed by outside investment.
In a separate announcement earlier this week, FIFA said FFE would raise about $4.2 billion through the sale of minority, non-controlling interests while retaining exclusive control over governance, competitions and sporting decisions.
The governing body added that the proposal, together with its existing development programs, could increase planned football development funding to more than $10 billion over the next four years if approved by member associations.
The proposal has triggered one of the biggest governance disputes in world football after Reuters reported that it would involve FIFA selling up to a 20% stake in FFE to an investor group led by Thrive Eternal, which FIFA had previously identified as the expected lead investor group.
Thrive Eternal is a permanent-capital investment vehicle backed by Joshua Kushner, the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
UEFA voted on Thursday to boycott FIFA competitions if the plan proceeds, arguing that football's governing institutions should never commercialize the sport's core assets. The European body accused FIFA of failing to properly consult stakeholders and warned that the plan risks undermining football's governance and integrity.
CONCACAF also rejected the proposal after meeting this week, saying its 41 member associations opposed the initiative, although it stopped short of backing UEFA's boycott threat.
Together, UEFA and CONCACAF account for 96 of FIFA's 211 votes, leaving them short of the 106 votes needed to block the proposal if other confederations support it.
If member associations approve the plan, Thrive Eternal is expected to lead the investor group behind FFE, while JPMorgan is advising FIFA on the fundraising process.
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