The Confederation of African Football has called on its members to review FIFA’s controversial plan to sell off stakes in its major competitions, including the World Cup.

“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,” CAF said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Football’s world governing body on Tuesday announced plans to create a commercial subsidiary to run its biggest events, such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.

Under the proposal, private investors would be allowed to acquire stakes in the company but would remain minority shareholders, FIFA said. The governing body hopes to raise up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20 billion for FFE.

If approved, the project could provide each of FIFA’s 211 member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027 and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20 million.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Wednesday described the initiative as a “golden opportunity to turbocharge the development of the game globally.”

However, the proposal has drawn criticism from UEFA, several leading European federations and European Union officials, who view it as another step in the commercialisation of sport and have raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest.

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have also expressed concern that the proposal was made public before FIFA’s 211 member associations were fully consulted.

CAF said it remained “committed to continue consulting and together with its member associations… in support of increasing financial and other resources for the development and growth of football in Africa and worldwide.”

AFP