ZURICH: FIFA President Gianni Infantino has announced the withdrawal of the proposed “FIFA Forward Enterprise” project, saying the initiative created divisions within football and was no longer in the sport’s best interest.
In a statement, Infantino said the project was dependent on securing support from the majority of FIFA member associations. After listening to the views of all stakeholders, FIFA decided not to move forward with the proposal.
The FIFA president said the organisation’s primary goal has always been to promote unity and improve football worldwide.
He added that FIFA would continue working to bring all relevant parties back to the table and maintain its mission of developing football in countries in need.
Infantino further confirmed that the FIFA Forward Enterprise project has been officially discontinued and no further progress would be made on the related proposals.
Earlier, Football’s global governing body FIFA has issued a clarification regarding its proposed “FIFA Forward Enterprise” project following objections and concerns raised over the initiative.
In a statement, FIFA said inaccurate media reports affected the consultation process and stressed that it wanted to gather views from all 211 member associations based on facts and accurate information.
FIFA said no single organisation could claim to represent all 211 member associations, adding that football was not being sold and that FIFA would never take such a step.
The governing body said the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise would allow commercial activities to be managed through a subsidiary, which would remain fully owned and controlled by FIFA.
According to FIFA, revenue generated through commercial activities would be distributed among all 211 member associations.
Under the proposal, each member association would receive $20 million in FIFA Forward funding between 2027 and 2030.
FIFA added that external investment would not change the organisation’s control or governance structure.
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The body said the establishment of FIFA Forward Enterprise would only proceed if supported by a majority of member associations, while the final decision to approve, amend, or reject the proposal would be made through consultation with members.
