FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed that the project to create a commercial structure for the federation is still just a proposal, stressing that its adoption requires the approval of the national member associations and the FIFA Council.
On Tuesday, FIFA announced plans to raise $4.2 billion by selling about 20% of its new business structure to private investors.
The new entity is set to take over the management of the federation's media and commercial rights, including the rights to the World Cup tournaments.
Media reports indicate that among the potential investors is a fund belonging to Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
Infantino said in a post on his Instagram account that the FIFA Forward Enterprise project represents a "proposal and an opportunity" within a democratic consultation process involving the 211 national associations that are members of FIFA and the FIFA Council.
He explained that if the project is approved, a subsidiary wholly owned and controlled by FIFA will be established, and will be responsible for unifying the federation’s commercial activities with the business related to organizing tournaments.
The company will be responsible for organizing and commercially investing in all FIFA competitions, as well as managing sponsorship deals, selling broadcasting and licensing rights, and launching new projects. These activities will benefit member national federations by leveraging previously untapped commercial potential, according to Infantino.
The FIFA president indicated that strengthening the commercial aspect represents, in his view, a natural new step in the federation's development, following a decade of governance reforms and expanded development programs.
He added that if the project is approved, the funding provided to each national association under the FIFA Forward program for the period between 2027 and 2030 will increase from $8 million to $20 million.
Each federation will also be able to obtain additional one-time funding of up to $20 million to implement special projects.
Infantino said the project represents "a golden opportunity to accelerate the development of football around the world," but stressed at the same time that it is just a proposal and not a commitment, stressing that the final decision rests with the national associations that are members of FIFA.
The project had previously faced criticism from the European Football Association (UEFA), the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), and the Asian Football Confederation.
