FIFA drops plan to sell World Cup commercial rights stake to investors — newspaper

FIFA drops plan to sell World Cup commercial rights stake to investors — newspaper The controversial plan collapsed following opposition from football officials around the world and a major rift among senior FIFA executives, the newspaper saidNEW YORK, August 1. /TASS/. The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has abandoned a proposal by President Gianni Infantino to sell a stake in World Cup commercial rights to private investors, the New York Post reported. According to a source cited by the newspaper, the controversial plan collapsed following opposition from football officials around the world and a major rift among senior FIFA executives. "FIFA and its bankers badly misread the mood in Europe, where the sport’s richest clubs and leagues bring in most of the game’s revenue," the paper pointed out. "There is no way they want to continue to be involved in this mess," a source said. Earlier, Infantino’s proposal was rejected by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). UEFA also announced plans to boycott FIFA tournaments. The plan envisaged the creation of a commercial subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise, which would control major FIFA men’s and women’s competitions. Infantino argued that the move would increase revenues for FIFA member associations and support the development of football worldwide. FIFA estimated that the mechanism could generate $4.2 billion. However, the proposal drew strong criticism from football officials, federations and other organizations. 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