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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Sports

African football body to review FIFA's plan for private investment in major tournaments

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency New plan
  • The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has asked its members to review FIFA's plan to sell stakes in major competitions like the World Cup.
  • FIFA aims to raise up to $4.2 billion by selling minority stakes in a new commercial subsidiary, potentially offering member associations $20 million each.
  • While FIFA touts the plan as a development opportunity, critics like UEFA and European officials express concerns about commercialization and conflicts of interest.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has called on its member associations to carefully examine FIFA's controversial proposal to sell stakes in its major tournaments, including the World Cup. CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe will convene a meeting of the CAF executive committee next week to "assess and evaluate the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise initiative."

FIFA announced plans to establish a commercial subsidiary to manage its flagship events, such as the World Cup and Club World Cup. Under this model, private investors could acquire minority stakes in the company. FIFA estimates the initiative could generate up to $4.2 billion, based on a $20 billion valuation for the subsidiary, potentially providing each of its 211 member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027. Funding allocations for the 2027-2030 cycle could also increase from $8 million to $20 million.

The CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe, will host a meeting of the CAF executive committee next week to… assess and evaluate the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise initiative.

— CAFCAF announced its intention to review FIFA's commercial subsidiary plan.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino described the plan as a "golden opportunity to turbocharge the development of the game globally." However, the proposal has faced significant criticism from UEFA, several prominent European football federations, and European Union officials. These critics view the move as an excessive step in the commercialization of sports and have raised alarms about potential conflicts of interest.

Concerns have also been voiced by the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), who noted that the proposal was made public before all member associations were thoroughly consulted. CAF, meanwhile, stated its commitment to ongoing consultation with its members to support the growth of football in Africa and worldwide.

a golden opportunity to turbocharge the development of the game globally.

— Gianni InfantinoFIFA President Gianni Infantino described the initiative's potential impact.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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