"Possibility of World Cup Boycott" Global Football Community Reacts Strongly to FIFA's Surprise Plan to Establish a Subsidiary

*This content was translated by AI.

The global football community is strongly opposing FIFA's attempt to establish a subsidiary responsible for operating international football tournaments such as the World Cup and to sell part of the subsidiary's shares to private entities.

FIFA has even sent an essentially coercive message stating that there will be a huge difference in support funds between member national associations that support their plans and those that do not, raising the possibility of a boycott of next year's Women's World Cup centered around the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).

According to The Athletic and dpa news agency on the 29th (Korean time), FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced plans to establish a subsidiary called "FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE)" to manage operations of international tournaments such as the World Cup, broadcasting rights, and sponsorships.

FIFA estimates FFE's value at $20 billion (389.1 trillion won) and stated it would raise up to $4.2 billion (671.1 billion won) by selling non-controlling minority stakes to external investors. Through this plan, FIFA envisions increasing the scale of support for football development to over $10 billion (144.55 trillion won).

In Pan-ti-no (Chairman) also sent letters to 211 member national associations, stating that if they support their plans by September 19, each association would receive 4 billion won (approximately 57.9 billion won) in support as part of the new support program FIFA Fast Forward Program (FFFP), launched alongside FFE.

On the other hand, football associations that do not participate in FIFA's plan will only receive $2.7 million (approximately 4 billion won) under the current distribution system, it added.

FIFA is appealing for support from member national associations with a message bordering on coercion because the plan can only be implemented if approved by more than half of the 211th member nations and by 37 members of the FIFA Council.

The problem is that this FIFA plan was unilaterally formulated without any prior consultation with continental confederations such as UEFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Moreover, it is known that Joshua Kushner's investment firm, brother-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, is among the potential investor candidates. Reports from The New York Post suggest that President Trump is trying to appoint In Pan-ti-no (Chairman) as the next UN Secretary-General, and In Pan-ti-no (Chairman) and President Trump are known to have a very close relationship.

UEFA has reacted most strongly. UEFA immediately issued a statement saying, "The spirit and operation of football cannot be bought or sold assets. This is even more true when it is completely unclear who will benefit financially. None of us own football, and the World Cup cannot be sold by FIFA at its discretion." UEFA plans to urgently convene a meeting with its 55 member nations to discuss a response at the UEFA level. The possibility of boycotting the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup, scheduled for next year, is also being discussed.

The AFC also stated in a statement, "We recognize the importance of seeking innovative approaches that can strengthen the future of world football. However, such impactful plans must be based on principles of proper governance, transparency, and meaningful consultation." It further criticized, "Decisions that could change the commercial and financial future require prior consultation with continental confederations and member associations before being submitted to decision-making bodies." The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) also expressed opposition, saying, "We learned about this matter through media reports. We are deeply concerned about the lack of due process."

The combined number of member nations in AFC, UEFA, and CONCACAF reaches 143, far exceeding half of FIFA's total membership (211), meaning they could block FIFA's plan. However, the key issue is how unified their opinions will be, as it is known that the Czech Football Association was the first among UEFA member nations to declare support for FIFA's plan.

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*This content was translated by AI.