FIFA abandons controversial World Cup investment plan after backlash

In a statement released on Saturday, FIFA said it would not move forward with the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, acknowledging that it had become a source of division within world football.

“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,” reads the statement.

The FFE proposal would have transferred FIFA's commercial and event delivery operations, including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing rights, into a new subsidiary fully owned and controlled by FIFA. The organization had planned to raise up to $4.2 billion by selling minority, non-controlling stakes to long-term investors while keeping exclusive authority over sporting and regulatory decisions.

FIFA argued the initiative would unlock additional revenue for football development. Under the proposal, each of its 211 member associations would have received $20 million in FIFA Forward funding for the 2027 to 2030 cycle, with an additional voluntary one-time development program also offering up to $20 million per association if the project had been approved.

However, the plan drew immediate criticism from UEFA, which accused FIFA of crossing "a line that football's governing institutions should never cross" and argued that "the soul and governance of football are not assets to trade."

On Friday, FIFA defended the initiative, insisting that "nobody is selling football" and blaming inaccurate media reports for disrupting its planned consultation process. The organization reiterated that the proposal would only proceed with the backing of a majority of its member associations and stressed that FIFA would retain full ownership and control of the subsidiary.

Despite those assurances, FIFA ultimately withdrew the proposal, saying the organization would instead focus on rebuilding consensus among member associations, confederations and other stakeholders while continuing efforts to expand investment in football development worldwide.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Cape Verde defender Sidny Cabral’s strike against Argentina was voted the best goal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.