FIFA Continental Unions Demand Independent Review of Forward Enterprise Project

Three continental football unions — UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation — have issued a joint statement demanding an independent review of FIFA’s Forward Enterprise project, intensifying pressure on FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Joint Statement Targets Governance Failures

Alexander Ceferin, President of UEFA; Victor Montagliani, President of CONCACAF; and Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, President of the Asian Football Confederation, signed the statement. It directly challenges the decision-making process behind Forward Enterprise, a proposal to sell future commercial rights to the FIFA World Cup and other FIFA-organized competitions to private-sector investors in order to increase FIFA’s revenue.

The project has since been frozen following widespread criticism. The unions stressed that football “is the world’s greatest shared passion” and “belongs not to an individual or institution, but to players, fans, clubs, member associations, and every body entrusted with safeguarding its future.”

“Not About Money” — Emphasis on Integrity and Accountability

The statement explicitly stated that the issue “is not about money,” noting that the continental unions had already advocated for the responsible distribution of FIFA’s substantial financial reserves to strengthen investment in member associations. It clarified that the concern does not involve revisiting collective decisions on tournament expansions or World Cup hosting allocations.

Instead, the unions framed the matter as fundamentally about “the integrity of the game and the integrity of those elected to lead it.” Leadership, they asserted, “is not ownership, nor is it about claiming or retaining power — it is a duty to serve the football family that placed its trust in those entrusted with responsibility.”

Critique of Process and Oversight

The unions condemned the manner in which Forward Enterprise was introduced: “presented on a tight timeline, without genuine consultation, and pushed toward a deadline before member associations could properly review its terms — not an oversight, but a deliberate design to limit scrutiny.”

They further stated there remains “a failure to acknowledge that the attempt to sell a stake in the World Cup constituted a grave misjudgment, not merely a procedural error, but a fundamental breach of trust with the institutions FIFA exists to serve.”

On governance, the statement insisted that sound governance in response to such a serious misjudgment requires review by “a fully independent third party — not FIFA, not its staff, and not any entity within football.” It added unequivocally: “FIFA management must have no role in conducting the review.”

Concerns Over Exclusionary Decision-Making

The statement referenced a leadership meeting held in Morocco, noting that “only one elected official attended,” while “no members of the FIFA Council or member associations were invited.” Attendance was limited to “a small number of members of the Management Committee — comprised of senior FIFA employees.”

This conduct, the unions argued, “does not reflect the behavior of a guardian of the game, but of someone who believes the game is answerable to him.”

The statement concluded with a direct message to FIFA leadership: “There is silence where there should be accountability, and distance where there should be openness. These are not qualities football deserves in its leadership. We have taken this position not lightly, and not alone — but together, out of duty to the game we serve. Football’s strength has always lain in its unity, and we now call for respect for that unity — for leadership that serves football, not seeks to control it.”