FIFA approach 'totally unacceptable'

Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa has branded FIFA's lack of consultation over its plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors "totally unacceptable", saying the move undermined the sport's existing continental structure.

The Bahraini's unusually forthright comments were made in a letter sent on Thursday to the regional body's 47 member national football federations, which was seen by Reuters.

FIFA on Tuesday said it planned to create a €17.5billion commercial subsidiary to run the World Cup and its other events, drawing criticism from regional confederations, including the AFC, which said they were blindsided by the announcement.

"The AFC notes with great concern and disappointment that it was not consulted by FIFA at any level prior to the public announcement of this proposal," Sheikh Salman, also the senior vice-president of the non-executive FIFA Council, wrote.

"And nor has it received any detailed governance, financial or legal analysis of the proposal and its potential repercussions, which is totally unacceptable.

"Furthermore, the AFC is deeply concerned that FIFA's unilateral actions appear to undermine the very foundations of continental football, which are based on solidarity, cooperation and transparency."

The Kuala Lumpur-based AFC is one of FIFA's six confederations and is responsible for running regional club and national team competitions across a vast expanse that encompasses continental Asia, the Middle East and Australia.

The Bahraini said the proposal would not succeed without the support of all of the confederations.

Sheikh Salman called for FIFA President Gianni Infantino's proposal to be "thoroughly examined and discussed through the appropriate legal and governance channels" and questioned the tight timeline given to member associations to approve the plan.

Infantino said in a letter to all 211 football associations this week that they would receive €35.12million each if they agreed to FIFA's proposal by 19 September.

"The AFC is also surprised that the current timeline allows an extremely limited period for consideration of a proposal of such significance, when such decisions should never be rushed," wrote Sheikh Salman.

He asked the confederation's members to avoid making a decision on the proposal until the AFC had engaged in further discussions with FIFA.

"The AFC kindly requests all (member associations) to await the outcome of these consultations and the completion of the necessary review processes before reaching any position regarding the proposal," he wrote.

"I assure you that the AFC remains fully committed to working constructively with all (member associations), FIFA and stakeholders to advance the interests of football and ensure that the continued growth of the game is built on a foundation of trust, transparency and unity."

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.

The Football Association of Ireland has not yet commented on the matter.

Meanwhile, the World Leagues Association, which is chaired by Premier League chief executive Richard Masters (above), issued a strong statement opposing FIFA’s plans on Thursday morning.

"Without any consultation, FIFA announced earlier this week a project to establish a commercial subsidiary to operate its competitions and sell equity interests to private investors," the statement began.

"The FIFA World Cup value, and more generally of national team football, is the result of a collective effort across the entire football pyramid. National team football is built upon the release of players by their clubs.

"While around 1% of the world’s professional players participate in the FIFA World Cup, the other 130,000 professional footballers and all their clubs stop competing as national league competitions come to a halt.

"Therefore, FIFA’s responsibilities extend beyond the commercial success of its own competitions. As the global governing body of football, FIFA has a responsibility to safeguard the balance between national, continental and world competitions and to consider the interests of the game globally.

"The FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project further highlights the conflict of interest between FIFA’s role as the regulator of world football and as the commercial organiser of major international competitions.

"The World Leagues Association asks FIFA to withdraw its project and reiterates the need for a fundamental change in FIFA’s decision-making processes, ensuring that decisions affecting the entire football pyramid are taken through transparent and inclusive process involving all stakeholders that contribute to the game."

The WLA’s statement was validated by its board including 12 leagues from around the world – Europe’s 'Big Five’ leagues but also Major League Soccer and the Saudi Pro League.

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