FIFA World Cup stake plan has been officially withdrawn and UEFA confirms support for the move and calls it a ‘key governance decision for football’.
UEFA has revealed that FIFA has dropped its plan to sell a stake in its football tournaments, including the World Cup, to private investors. The plan was opposed by all national associations of UEFA, and there was a broad opposition from other federations and confederations throughout the world.
Structurally, the offer was cause for concern regarding commercialization of the core football assets and the impact of external ownership on the future development of the competition governance system. UEFA’s reaction is a clear institutional reaction: the principal resources of football ought to be given with the hands of governing bodies and not of private capital structures.
The rejection wasn’t just the result of federations, but came from a wide range of stakeholders, from clubs and leagues to players and political leaders. This is a collective backlash and a reminder of how sensitive ownership models are in the governance of sport globally, and with regard to flagship sporting events like the World Cup.
UEFA also made a direct criticism of FIFA leadership, which was based on issues such as transparency, decision-making and capital allocation. FIFA’s resources are estimated to be more than $5 billion, which led UEFA to question the need to seek private investment rather than using existing resources to develop football around the world.
In the future, UEFA will be reviewing the proposal in co-operation with the member associations and other confederations. The goal is to make structural protection so that similar projects can’t be advanced without greater consensus.
Also, UEFA announced its plans to review the distribution of resources, including in programmes such as the FIFA Forward, to ensure resources are properly used at the grassroots and national level.
