Recently, there has been widespread discussion about FIFA's plan to establish a new subsidiary. In response, FIFA issued a statement clarifying the proposal.
FIFA Official Statement
FIFA recognizes and respects open feedback and concerns.
FIFA reiterated its commitment to open and democratic consultations.
Inaccurate media reporting disrupted the planned consultation process.
We have listened to the feedback from the various football federations regarding the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) and hope to address the issues that have arisen since the initial media reports on Tuesday.
We respect public feedback and concerns, and reiterate our commitment to open and democratic consultation.
Our planned consultation process was disrupted by erroneous media reports. We will move forward with this consultation process to ensure that each member association (MA) can express its vote based on facts.
The FFE was established to ensure that all FIFA member associations (MAs) can truly have commercial opportunities in football in their respective countries, without sacrificing the spirit or governance of FIFA or football itself.
Nobody is selling footballs. This is definitely not something FIFA would consider.
Everyone has the right to express objections and seek further clarification, but no single entity can claim to represent all 211 MAs worldwide. Each MA should be allowed to review proposals and participate in shaping its own future. These are FIFA's democratic principles.
According to the proposal:
FFE will move FIFA’s commercial and operational event operations to a subsidiary that is permanently owned and controlled by FIFA.
The commercial value created will be shared among all 211 MAs, enabling each MA to make meaningful investments in football within its own country.
According to the proposal, each MA will receive $20 million in FIFA forward development funding over the next four years (2027-2030), regardless of their individual support.
This additional funding will come from the extra revenue generated by FFE through more effective management of FIFA's commercial operations, benefiting all MAs.
The FIFA Fast Forward program is a one-time development fund, providing an additional $20 million to each MA—participation in all MAs will be entirely voluntary if the FFE proposal proceeds—funded by external investment, without relinquishing control or altering FIFA's governance structure.
Without the support of a majority of MAs, FIFA's commercial activities will remain unchanged. FFE will not be established.
These components represent the starting point of the consultation process and are open for discussion as part of that process. This can include approval, rejection, or modification, either in whole or in part.
These principles underpin FFE’s proposals: unprecedented development funding, the right to truly global ownership of our movement’s business opportunities, and full self-determination for all MAs through democratic processes.
(End of statement)
Following FIFA's official announcement of the proposed FFE (Free Federation of Football), UEFA and CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) expressed their opposition, while the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) expressed disappointment and awareness that FIFA had failed to communicate with them in advance. The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and the African Football Confederation (ACF) are about to discuss the proposal; only CONMEBOL (Conference of South American Football Confederation) has yet to comment.
