The International Federation of Football Associations issued an official statement in response to the criticisms raised regarding the proposal to establish a new company aimed at attracting investments by selling the rights to some tournaments.
FIFA affirmed in its official statement its respect for the concerns expressed by some continental federations and its commitment to conducting open and democratic consultations before making any decision.
FIFA clarified that the inaccurate media reports published in the past few days have disrupted the planned consultation process, indicating that it will continue the consultation process in a way that ensures all member national federations can express their opinions based on complete facts.
The international federation stated that the goal of establishing the new company is to give all 211 national federations the opportunity to benefit from the commercial revenues of football in their countries, without compromising the spirit of the game or the governance system within FIFA.
The statement stressed that "no one is selling football," affirming that this matter is not up for discussion within the International Federation of Football, and that every federation has the right to object or request further clarifications.
It added: "No entity has the right to claim that it represents all member federations, as each federation should have the opportunity to study the proposal and participate in shaping its future, according to the democratic principle upon which the organization is based."
It continued: "The proposal stipulates transferring the commercial and operational activities related to organizing FIFA tournaments to a subsidiary company fully and permanently owned and controlled by the international federation, so that the additional commercial revenues are distributed to all national federations, helping them increase their investments in football development."
It noted that each national federation will receive, under the proposal, 20 million dollars from the "FIFA Forward" program, during the period from 2027 to 2030, regardless of its position on the project, and that this increase will be funded from the additional revenues that the new company will generate through more efficient management of commercial rights.
It also indicated that the FIFA Fast Forward program will provide an additional 20 million dollars to each national federation, on the basis of one-time funding, with confirmation that participation in it will be entirely optional, and that its funding will be through external investments without relinquishing FIFA's control or making any changes to the governance structure.
The international federation affirmed that the project will not see the light if it does not obtain the support of the majority of national federations, and in this case, FIFA's current commercial activities will continue without any change, amid the fierce attack campaign that FIFA officials have been subjected to from several continental federations.
FIFA concluded its statement by affirming that all elements of the proposal still represent a point of discussion, and that they are subject to approval, rejection, or amendment, whether in whole or in part, stressing that the basic principles of the project are an unprecedented increase in funding for football development and enabling broader ownership of commercial opportunities.
