FIFA pushes Forward Enterprise, insists ‘no one is selling football’

On Friday, FIFA issued a formal statement to counter criticism of its proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a new subsidiary that would centralise commercial operations of the World Cup, Club World Cup and other tournaments, while asserting that “no one is selling football.”

Fifa said the organisation is not “selling football” and will not relinquish control over its tournaments or alter its governance structure. The statement quoted the federation: “Ninguém está vendendo o futebol.” Gianni Infantino explained that the proposal aims to keep full oversight while exploring new revenue streams.

The plan foresees the sale of a minority stake in the new company to private investors, targeting roughly US$4.2 billion in proceeds and valuing the Forward Enterprise at about US$20 billion.

If approved, each of the 211 national associations would receive US$20 million from the FIFA Forward programme between 2027 and 2030, regardless of their position on the proposal.

In addition, the FIFA Fast Forward programme would offer a voluntary extra US$20 million per association, funded by external investors and without any transfer of control to them.

The creation of the FIFA Forward Enterprise will only occur if a majority of the 211 associations vote in favour; otherwise commercial operations will remain unchanged.

FIFA added that the consultation process was hampered by “incorrect information published by the press” and pledged to restart discussions so each federation can analyse the facts before the final vote.