DFB, AFC, EFA Slam FIFA’s Plan To Sell W/Cup Stakes

Football federations across three continents have voiced fierce opposition to FIFA’s plan to sell stakes in its major competitions, including the World Cup, with Germany’s football association describing the move as “an outright attack on football.”

FIFA announced on Tuesday that it intends to create a semi-private subsidiary that would sell part of its business operations tied to the World Cup and other tournaments, with the aim of raising $4.2 billion.

The plan still requires approval from the 38-member FIFA Council and a majority of its 211 member associations, and FIFA has said it intends to present the proposal to the Council soon.

Hans-Joachim Watzke, vice-president of the German FA (DFB), president of Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund, and a vice-president of UEFA’s executive committee, was among the most outspoken critics.

“Many in European football see FIFA’s plans as an outright attack on football. I share this view. A line has been crossed here,” he told Germany’s Kicker magazine, adding that conversations with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and other officials in recent days had shown broad agreement on the issue among member associations.

Watzke pointed to Europe’s strong showing at the World Cup – with six European teams reaching the quarter-finals and three reaching the semi-finals – as a sign that a united European front could carry significant weight against the proposal.

UEFA itself criticised the plan as effectively putting the game’s “soul” up for sale, while CONCACAF, the governing body for North and Central American football, said it was “deeply concerned by the lack of due process.”

Earlier in July, the DFB had already confirmed it declined to sign a letter supporting Infantino’s re-election, despite reports that the FIFA president had secured backing from more than 200 member associations.

The Asian Football Confederation added its voice to the criticism on Wednesday, saying it was disappointed that FIFA’s plans – reported to involve ties to the extended family of US President Donald Trump – were made public without prior consultation.

“The AFC was not consulted on the proposal and is disappointed that a matter of such significance entered the public domain before the AFC family had been afforded the opportunity to examine and discuss it through the appropriate and established governance channels,” the Kuala Lumpur-based confederation said in a statement, adding that initiatives of this scale must be built on “good governance, transparency and meaningful consultation.”

The AFC, which represents 47 member nations including Australia, China, Japan and Saudi Arabia, said all stakeholders should be given sufficient information and adequate time to properly assess the proposal.

England’s Football Association also raised serious concerns, saying it had been given no advance notice of the plan.

“We were completely unaware of this proposal and have no substantive details, including what the proposition actually is, and what conditions are attached,” the FA said in a statement.

“Based on the limited information, we are deeply concerned about the lack of process and governance to get to this point, and the apparent substance and principles involved.

When the proposal is shared in the full and transparent way now promised by FIFA, we will make our views clear, and comment further.”

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham also weighed in publicly on X, writing that “football does not belong to investors” and adding, “The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone’s to sell.”

FIFA has said its proposed subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), would seek long-term investors to purchase minority,
non-controlling interests in the venture, while FIFA itself would retain sole control of FFE along with exclusive authority over football governance, competitions, the match calendar, and all regulatory and sporting decisions.