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FIFA President Gianni Infantino has apologized for the way the organization handled its now-abandoned plan to sell a stake in commercial operations to private investors, a project estimated to be worth as much as $20 billion. The FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, as it was known, has been withdrawn after drawing opposition from football officials and confederations around the world.

In a statement released on August 1, Infantino confirmed that the proposal would not proceed, citing the divisions it created among stakeholders. The acknowledgment came amid reports of a major rift among senior FIFA executives and a direct challenge from European football's governing body, UEFA.

Coverage Comparison

Two TASS English-language reports provided the core details of the development. The first, published on August 1, focused on the abandonment of the project, quoting Infantino at length. The second, dated August 6, drew on a Financial Times report to highlight Infantino's personal apology in a letter to FIFA Council members, written after an emergency FIFA session in Morocco.

A separate statement from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), distributed by AllAfrica, struck a different tone. Rather than focusing on the controversy, CAF's Executive Committee unanimously endorsed the joint update from FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Secretary General Mattias Grafström, and reaffirmed its commitment to governance and transparency.

Key Claims

  • FIFA has officially abandoned the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan, which would have created a commercial subsidiary controlling major men's and women's tournaments, including the World Cup and the Club World Cup. Infantino confirmed the proposal was "off the table."
  • The plan was estimated to be worth around $20 billion, according to reporting cited by TASS.
  • Infantino and Grafström issued a joint apology, with Infantino acknowledging in a letter to FIFA Council members that the process "should have been handled differently." The letter stated they "sincerely apologize" and "commit to them not happening again."
  • The proposal faced opposition from multiple confederations: UEFA, CONCACAF, AFC, and CONMEBOL all rejected the plan. UEFA additionally announced plans to boycott FIFA tournaments.
  • CAF, by contrast, endorsed the joint update and stated it would continue to focus on making African football among the best in the world, while adhering to global governance, transparency, and auditing best practices.
The abandonment was attributed by some reports to opposition from football officials around the world and internal discord within FIFA's senior leadership.

Perspectives

FIFA: "Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place," Infantino said in a statement. He added that the purpose was always to "unite and improve." In his later apology, he acknowledged that mistakes were made and pledged to conduct a review, with a report to be presented at the FIFA Council's next scheduled meeting.

CAF: CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe said: "CAF welcomes and endorses the 'Joint Update' by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Secretary General Mattias Grafström." The confederation emphasized its commitment to governance and transparency, with the statement noting that "everything that was done, was done in full compliance with the FIFA Regulatory Framework."

Opposing confederations: UEFA, CONCACAF, AFC, and CONMEBOL rejected the proposal. UEFA's response was the most forceful, with its 55 member associations voting to boycott all football tournaments sponsored by FIFA, as reported by TASS.