FIFA Denies Selling Football Amid World Cup Boycott Threat
Last update: July 31, 2026
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Is FIFA actually putting football up for sale? Gianni Infantino's organisation says absolutely not — but nearly half the world doesn't seem to be buying it.
Well, this escalated quickly.
FIFA has hit back after being slammed for its rather controversial plan to flog off stakes in its biggest competitions to private investors, insisting that "nobody is selling football."
As reported by cbinews.tv, the drama kicked off after reports that FIFA wants to create a brand-new commercial arm called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) to run its major tournaments — yes, including the World Cup — and then let outside investors snap up a minority, non-controlling stake in it.
Unsurprisingly, that didn't go down well.
On Thursday, UEFA's 55 member associations voted to boycott future World Cups if FIFA pushes ahead. And CONCACAF, which looks after football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, said its 41 member associations have also "rejected" the plan outright.
That's 96 votes potentially against — and Infantino only needs 106 out of 211 to get this through.
In a statement released Friday morning, FIFA tried to calm the storm, saying its consultation process had been "disrupted by incorrect media reports."
They added: "We will proceed with this consultation process to ensure that each MA has the ability to express its vote based on facts. Nobody is selling football."
FIFA doubled down, saying: "We respect the feedback and concern aired in public and reaffirm our commitment to an open and democratic consultation."
And just to be crystal clear on why they're doing it, they said FFE has been proposed "solely to ensure that all FIFA Member Associations 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."
So, will the consultation change any minds? Watch this space.
Credit: cbinews.tv
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