Sepp Blatter joins criticism of FIFA private investment proposal

Opposition continues to mount against FIFA's controversial proposal to bring in private investment.

The latest comes from the former president of soccer's governing body, Sepp Blatter.

"The FIFA is not a private equity fund," Blatter, who oversaw FIFA from 1998 to 2015, said on social media on Friday, July 31. "It is an association with statutes, regulations and a fiduciary responsibility to protect the global game. If you sell football's crown jewels to private investors, you also sell part of the game – especially its soul. Money matters, but it must never become everything."

The proposal, announced on July 28, would see FIFA create a subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).

FFE would control much of FIFA's most lucrative enterprises for its tournaments, including the World Cup. FFE would run commercial and event operations, including broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing deals.

Current FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called the plan "a golden opportunity to turbocharge the development of the game globally"

But the proposal drew quick condemnation.

UEFA, the European soccer governing body, declared on Thursday that it would boycott all FIFA competitions, including World Cups, until the proposal is killed.

Later that day, Concacaf, the governing body of North American, Central American and Caribbean soccer, said it would not support the proposal.

The Asian Football Confederation said Friday that it stood in solidarity with UEFA and Concacaf in opposing the plan.

FIFA put out a statement on Thursday saying the proposal was being misinterpreted.

"FFE has been proposed solely to ensure that all FIFA Member Associations (MAs) have the opportunity to take meaningful ownership of the commercial opportunity of football in their respective countries, and that this does not come at the cost of either the spirit or the governance of FIFA or football itself," the statement said.

"Nobody is selling football. This is not something FIFA would ever entertain."

Contributing: Seth Vertelney

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