Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s ambitious plan to sell stakes in football competitions to private investors is facing serious collapse after a third major confederation voiced its opposition.
The Asian Football Confederation published a statement on Friday declaring it “stands in solidarity” with Uefa and Concacaf in rejecting the proposals put forward by Infantino.
The AFC warned that the plan could not “realistically achieve the necessary broad consensus and unity required to move forward,” dealing a significant blow to Infantino’s ambitions.
With Uefa holding 55 votes, Concacaf holding 35, and the AFC holding 46, the combined bloc of opposition now makes it mathematically very difficult for Infantino to secure the majority he needs.
Infantino had indicated the proposals would need a straight majority to pass, meaning 106 of Fifa’s 211 members would need to vote in favour for the plan to proceed.
The AFC accused Fifa of once again setting the “direction of travel” for a “significant initiative” without consulting the relevant stakeholders beforehand.
It said Fifa’s failure to consult member associations had “exposed fundamental weaknesses in Fifa’s consultation and decision-making processes that must now be addressed.”
Asian football’s governing body also criticised Fifa for leaving “confederations, member associations and even Fifa’s own governing bodies, including the Fifa Council, feeling sidelined.”
“The AFC calls upon 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 appropriate oversight by Fifa’s statutory bodies,” the statement read.
On Thursday, Uefa voted to boycott World Cups entirely if Infantino’s plan proceeded, with the European governing body accusing Fifa of using football “to enrich themselves and their friends.”
Uefa’s statement was unambiguous in its stance, declaring “The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product” and insisting “No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors.”
Hours after Uefa’s intervention, Concacaf, which hosted this year’s World Cup, also released a statement rejecting Infantino’s proposals outright.
Fifa responded early on Friday by vowing to continue with the plan, insisting “nobody is selling football” and claiming the consultation process had been “disrupted by incorrect media reports.”
The plan, which was outlined in a 25-page document created by investment bank JP Morgan, centres on creating a commercial subsidiary called Fifa Forward Enterprise to run Fifa’s main events, including its World Cups.
Fifa says it would “invite third parties to make minority, non-controlling investments” in the new subsidiary, with projections showing an estimated increased pay-out of 24 million euros per member association in the 2035-2039 cycle.
The World Cup is described in the document as the “most widely viewed” sporting event, while Fifa itself is characterised as “under-monetised,” a framing that has clearly alarmed the confederation opposition.
If approval is granted, Fifa says Thrive Eternal is expected to lead the proposed investor group, with Thrive being an American venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner.
Notably, the JP Morgan document contains no mention of the women’s game, an omission that is likely to attract further criticism as opposition to the plan continues to grow.
South American governing body Conmebol is yet to publicly comment, while the governing bodies in Africa and Oceania have both said they will discuss the plan in August.
