Fifa defends Forward Enterprise scheme and says new plan will not ‘sell’ the sport

Fifa has moved to defend its proposed “Fifa Forward Enterprise” project after fierce criticism from Uefa and other confederations, insisting it remains committed to a democratic consultation process and declaring: “No one is selling football.”

The world governing body issued a detailed clarification on the scheme following a backlash led by Uefa, which has warned it and other confederations could boycott all Fifa competitions if the proposal goes ahead.

In a formal statement, Fifa said it had “listened to the comments and concerns expressed by the relevant confederations” over the proposed creation of Fifa Forward Enterprise, and wanted to address issues that had “emerged since the initial media reports on Tuesday”.

The organisation argued that its planned consultation process had been “disrupted by inaccurate media reports”, but stressed it would still proceed to ensure every member association could vote “on the basis of facts”.

Fifa: project is about control and funding, not selling the game

Fifa said the project was designed to give all 211 member associations “a meaningful opportunity” to hold commercial rights to football in their own countries, and insisted this would not undermine “the spirit of football or its governance, or the governance of Fifa itself”.

The governing body firmly rejected suggestions the scheme amounted to privatising or selling off parts of the game, stating unequivocally: “No one is selling football. This is something that Fifa would never even consider.”

Fifa also underlined what it described as the democratic rights of every association in the debate, saying that while everyone had the right to oppose the proposal or request further clarification, “no single entity can claim to represent all 211 member associations worldwide”.

It said each member association must be allowed to review the proposal and “have a say in shaping its own future”, describing that as a core Fifa principle.

New subsidiary and increased funding for member associations

Setting out the financial and organisational structure of the plan, Fifa said the Fifa Forward Enterprise project would transfer its commercial and organisational activities for staging Fifa events into a permanent subsidiary company that Fifa would both own and manage.

The additional commercial value generated by this company, Fifa said, would be distributed among all 211 member associations, enabling “tangible investment in football in each country”.

Under the proposal, every member association would receive US$20m in development funding through the existing Fifa Forward programme across the four-year cycle from 2027 to 2030, regardless of whether that association individually supports the new project.

According to Fifa, that uplift would come from “additional revenues generated by the Fifa Forward Enterprise project” through what it called more effective management of Fifa’s commercial operations for the benefit of every member association.

One-off ‘Fast Forward’ offer and requirement for majority backing

Fifa also outlined a separate “Fifa Fast Forward” initiative, described as a one-off exceptional development payment of a further US$20m for each member association, which would be entirely optional for them to access if the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal proceeds.

That extra funding, Fifa said, would be financed through external investment “without relinquishing control or changing Fifa’s governance structure in any way”.

The governing body stressed that the commercial operations of Fifa would remain unchanged and Fifa Forward Enterprise would not be created at all if a majority of member associations did not support the proposal.

Fifa framed all of these elements as the starting point for a consultation process, emphasising they were “on the table for discussion” and could ultimately be approved, rejected or amended either in full or on an item-by-item basis.

Concluding its clarification, Fifa said the proposal was built on three core principles: providing “unprecedented development funding”, creating “genuine global ownership” of football’s commercial opportunities, and ensuring “full self‐determination via a democratic process” for all 211 member associations.