The FA joins criticism of Fifa’s plan to sell World Cup funds to private investors | Fifa

The Football Association has joined Uefa in criticizing Fifa’s plan to sell the World Cup to private investors.

In a statement issued on Wednesday morning, the FA said they have not seen the details of the controversial proposals, and expressed serious concern about Fifa’a governance.

The FA’s chairman, Debbie Hewitt, is one of Fifa’s eight vice-presidents and watched many of the World Cup matches alongside the president, Gianni Infantino, yet appears to have been shut out of any talks on the high-profile plans.

Fifa has given its 211 member associations a deadline of 19 September to decide whether to apply for an initial payment of $20m (£15m) for the proceeds of the sale of 20% of the new business entity – Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) – valued at $20bn (£15bn).

The FA’s statement is important as it is the first time that the governing body has criticized FIFA under Infantino, as it was silent during the Folarin Balalogun story during the World Cup and approved the awarding of Saudi Arabia in 2034.

The FA is understood to have held talks with Uefa and other European bodies, which are determined to kill the program by any means possible, including boycotting Fifa competitions and a perceived backlash on the table.

“We were completely unaware of the proposal and have no concrete information, including what exactly the proposal is, and what conditions are attached,” the FA statement said. “Based on limited information, we are very concerned about the lack of process and governance to get to this point, as well as the transparent context and principles involved. If this proposal is shared in the full and transparent way now promised by FIFA, we will make our views clear, and comment further.”

The FA’s statement follows a similarly strong release from Concacaf, most notable given the North American confederation’s recent launch of the most lucrative World Cup in Fifa’s history, generating $15bn in revenue.

The president of Concacaf, Victor Montagliani, was instrumental in winning the USA, Mexico and Canada a joint bid for the year 2026, but he was also kept in the dark about Fifa’s plans.

“Concacaf was made aware of this matter only through media reports, after that, and through a press release,” Concacaf said in a statement sent to the Guardian. “We are very concerned about the lack of proper procedures.

“We share the disappointment of many in our region and the game that this level of information was drafted and shared publicly before there was any discussion with the relevant governing bodies and stakeholders.

“As leaders in football, we are the guardians of the game, Fifa, the Confederations and all the Member Associations have a responsibility to always do things in a way that benefits the game, all the decisions we take must be guided by good governance, strong processes and long-term management.

“This is a framework that works under Concacaf. We hope that all members of the Fifa family will do the same.”

Fifa’s cooperation with the American bank, JP Morgan, to establish a new company called Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), which will be partially sold to “raise up to $4.2bn” to finance football development projects around the world later this year, left some stakeholders surprised and began to divide the world game.

Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation were already preparing to fight Fifa’s plans to expand the World Cup to 64 teams that will compete in the 2030 tournament, and there are fears that inviting private investors will make the expansion inevitable, and lead to pressure to run the World Cup every time given its commercial importance.

Uefa has accused Fifa of trying to sell the soul of football and will hold emergency talks on Wednesday to plan a coordinated response that could include legal action.

“This crosses the line that football governing bodies should never cross,” they said. “Uefa takes it very seriously, it should be the same for the entire National Football Association.

“The soul and management of football is not for sale – especially when there is no transparency as to who benefits financially. None of us owns football. It is not for Fifa to sell.”

The new prime minister of Britain, Andy Burnham, joined the critics of this program last night, saying on social media that this game is not for investors.

“The World Cup is not a product. It is the biggest tournament in world sport, and it has never been a commercial,” Burnham wrote in X. “Dress up the deal however you like. Once you’ve sold a piece of it, it’s sold.”