FIFA apologises to its member associations over now-withdrawn FFE plan, reaffirms support for President Infantino

FIFA has apologised to its member associations for the handling of its now-withdrawn FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal to sell World Cup commercial rights, while the organisation's leadership, on Thursday, reiterated its backing for President Gianni Infantino following a meeting in Morocco.

FIFA has apologised to its member associations for the handling of its now-withdrawn FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal to sell World Cup commercial rights, while the organisation's leadership, on Thursday, reiterated its backing for President Gianni Infantino following a meeting in Morocco. Both FIFA and Infantino have come under intense scrutiny since the announcement of the FFE, a proposed entity aimed at consolidating the sale of FIFA's commercial rights--including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing--along with the operational delivery of its tournaments. Under the plan, FIFA intended to raise upto USD 4.2 billion by selling minority, non-controlling stakes in the FFE to external investors.

However, this move generated a lot of concern and anger from the football fraternity, particularly UEFA, who felt that the sport, particularly its showpiece event, the FIFA World Cup, was being put for sale. Also, CONCACAF, the governing body for football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, also said its members had raised "deep concerns" over the proposal, citing a lack of due process, an unusually short consultation period, and the absence of review or approval by FIFA's relevant governance bodies. After facing the wrath from various quarters in world football, FIFA went on to drop its plans of establishing FFE. But nonetheless, Infantino continued to face anger from world football, with the FA (Football Association) in England set to withdraw support for his re-election to the top post, after the Football Association of Wales had become the first football association to do so.

Now, in a statement on Thursday, FIFA admitted mistakes in the handling of its FFE proposal, acknowledging that its Council and member associations should not have felt excluded from the process. It also conceded that further errors were made after details of the proposal were leaked to the media. "The meeting also addressed the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, where mistakes made were acknowledged. It was agreed that it was not the intention for the FIFA Council and FIFA Member Associations to feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently. It was further acknowledged that errors were also made after the proposal was leaked to media," a FIFA statement reads.

FIFA apologised to its Council and member associations for mistakes in handling the FFE proposal and pledged to prevent similar errors in the future. The governing body confirmed the proposal has been withdrawn and announced a review, with findings to be presented at the next FIFA Council meeting. FIFA also vowed to defend its integrity and governance against criticism, while maintaining that the process complied with its regulations. Going forward, it said it will work with stakeholders to strengthen the FIFA Forward programme in support of its 211 member associations, confederations and regional associations. "In a separate letter to the FIFA Council and FIFA Member Associations, an apology was made for these errors together with a commitment to ensure they do not happen again. A review will now be conducted, and a report will be presented to the FIFA Council at its next scheduled meeting," FIFA said.

"As previously communicated, the FFE proposal, which would have been subject to the approval of the FIFA Member Associations and the FIFA Council, is now off the table. With the project withdrawn, it was agreed that FIFA will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process and will take all necessary measures to protect and safeguard its name and reputation. There are always lessons to be learned, and FIFA will continue to improve its processes in light of this experience. In this instance, however, it is important to stress that, although mistakes were made, everything that was done was done in full compliance with the FIFA regulatory framework," FIFA added. "FIFA will work closely with the relevant stakeholders to examine how it can further support the development of the game through the FIFA Forward programme for the benefit of FIFA's 211 Member Associations, the Confederations and the Regional Associations," FIFA said further in its statement.

FIFA also said that its leadership has unanimously reaffirmed support for President Gianni Infantino, while Infantino also reiterated his confidence in FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom and the administration for their role in delivering the organisation's vision. "Following a meeting in Rabat, Morocco, the FIFA Secretary General and members of the FIFA Management Board in attendance reaffirmed their full support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino, as the only official elected by the 211 FIFA Member Associations. In turn, the FIFA President reiterated his full support for the FIFA Secretary General and the FIFA Administration for their necessary and outstanding work in the delivery of his vision," reads the FIFA statement. (ANI)