By Ghazali Ibrahim
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has appeared as the only continental football body to support FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s controversial proposal to sell a minority stake in the commercial rights of the FIFA World Cup and other minority competitions.
The proposal sought to create a new commercial entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), valued at about $20 billion, with up to 20 percent of its shares offered to private investors.
FIFA said the move would generate billions of dollars that would be redistributed to its 211 member associations to fund football development globally.
While Europe’s governing body, UEFA, led the resistance by describing the plan as an attempt to put “the soul of football” up for sale, other confederations including CONCACAF, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONMEBOL also rejected or distanced themselves from the proposal over concerns about governance, transparency and the growing influence of private investors in the sport.
In contrast, CAF urged its 54 member associations to examine the proposal, arguing that the additional funding could significantly boost football development across Africa.
Former Nigeria Football Federation president and FIFA Council member Amaju Pinnick was among those who publicly defended the initiative, saying FIFA’s financial support had become more valuable than government funding for many football associations.
However, the widespread backlash ultimately forced FIFA to abandon the proposal.
On Friday, the world football governing body withdrew the stake-sale plan after mounting opposition from confederations, national federations and senior football officials, with UEFA welcoming the decision and calling for greater consultation on future reforms.
The controversy has exposed deep divisions within global football over the commercial future of the sport and dealt a significant blow to Infantino’s leadership, with critics arguing that any attempt to reshape ownership of football’s premier competitions should involve broader consultation with stakeholders.
