Qatar FA praises Infantino decision to halt FIFA Forward Enterprise plan

The Qatar Football Association has given its full backing to FIFA president Gianni Infantino after he decided not to proceed with the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise initiative.

In a statement published on its account on X, the Qatar FA said it supported Infantino’s continuing efforts to develop and grow football around the world.

The association said its president, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, welcomed Infantino’s decision to abandon the proposal, saying it served the general interests of the international football community.

The FIFA Forward Enterprise plan had been met with opposition from UEFA, which announced its opposition to the proposal. UEFA also decided to boycott the World Cup and called for Infantino to resign.

The Qatar FA said some of the ideas contained in the FIFA proposal were worthy of consideration, while also praising FIFA for withdrawing the plan.

Sheikh Hamad said maintaining the unity of all member national associations should remain an immediate priority during the current period.

The Qatar FA statement said: “We at the Qatar Football Association reaffirm our full support for President Infantino’s continuing efforts to develop and grow football around the world.”

Infantino, the Swiss president of FIFA, has faced resistance over the Forward Enterprise proposal, with the disagreement involving the future direction of football’s international governing body and its relationship with national associations.

Qatar’s public support places the association behind Infantino at a time when the proposal has prompted a strong response from the European governing body. The Qatar FA’s statement focused on the value of preserving unity among FIFA’s member associations and described the decision not to move forward with the initiative as one that served the wider interests of the sport.

The association also made clear that its support was not based on an uncritical acceptance of every element of the plan. Sheikh Hamad acknowledged that some of the proposal’s ideas deserved to be examined, while maintaining that FIFA’s decision to step back was the appropriate course of action.

The statement ended with the Qatar FA repeating its backing for Infantino and his attempts to expand football’s development worldwide.

UEFA’s position, as set out in the source article, is markedly different. It opposed the FIFA proposal, announced a decision to boycott the World Cup and urged Infantino to leave his position. Against that backdrop, the Qatar FA has chosen to publicly support the FIFA president and his decision to withdraw the Forward Enterprise plan.