FIFA's 53-day ultimatum on World Cup commercial plan sparks UEFA backlash

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has issued an ultimatum to the 211 member associations, demanding they accept a controversial commercial proposal tied to the World Cup within 53 days. The plan promises each country a direct payment of $53 million, funded through a new commercial entity called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which aims to significantly increase football development financing.

However, the proposal, which reportedly involves selling stakes in the World Cup to private entities, comes with a stark warning. If the federations accept the plan, the total distribution will be $10 billion. If they reject it, the amount will be slashed to $2.7 billion, a reduction of nearly 75 percent.

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Today we learned of the deadline that FIFA has set for federations to support its proposals or, otherwise, the one-off payment offer will be withdrawn. This says it all about this plan.

The initiative has met fierce resistance from UEFA, the European football governing body. UEFA accused FIFA of crossing a line and criticized the pressure being applied to national federations. In a statement, UEFA expressed its dismay at the deadline, calling the plan's structure "telling."

UEFA claims that significant and growing opposition to the project exists among various industry stakeholders. The organization asserted that FIFA should not exploit the sport for personal gain and that priority should be given to federations, clubs, leagues, players, and fans. UEFA believes football can be grown responsibly without resorting to such measures.

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FIFA cannot continue to use our sport to enrich itself and its friends. We can grow football in the right way. It is time to prioritize federations, clubs, leagues, players and fans.