CONCACAF Joins UEFA in Rejecting FIFA’s World Cup Investment Plan

Opposition to FIFA President Gianni Infantino‘s proposal to open the commercial rights of the FIFA World Cup to private investors continues to grow, with CONCACAF becoming the latest football confederation to reject the plan just days after UEFA issued a similar rebuke.

Representing 41 member associations across North America, Central America and the Caribbean, CONCACAF announced that it had unanimously rejected the proposal after holding an emergency meeting with its member association presidents, FIFA Council representatives and confederation leadership.

The move marks another significant setback for FIFA’s controversial proposal to establish “FIFA Forward Enterprise,” a commercial company that would allow private investors to purchase interests linked to the FIFA World Cup and other FIFA competitions.

In a statement released on social media, CONCACAF stressed that football should remain under the stewardship of the football community rather than outside investors.

“Concacaf is a confederation united by the love of our game, where football comes first.”

The confederation said its leadership had spent the past decade building an organisation based on service, transparent governance and the long-term stewardship of football, warning that the sport has previously suffered when those responsible for governing it lost sight of those principles.

“History has shown FIFA and the football family what happens when the custodians of the game lose sight of these values.”

According to CONCACAF, member associations raised serious concerns about how the proposal had been presented, questioning both the process and the timeline.

Among the issues highlighted were what it described as a lack of due process, an artificially short deadline for member associations to respond, and the absence of review or approval by FIFA’s established governance bodies.

The confederation also questioned why FIFA would seek private investment after organising what has been described as the most profitable FIFA World Cup in history.

“The need for private equity investment to fund new and existing FIFA Forward programs following the most profitable FIFA World Cup in history was questioned.”

Following the meeting, CONCACAF announced three key decisions.

First, all 41 member associations formally rejected FIFA’s proposal.

Second, they instructed their representatives on the FIFA Council to engage FIFA on how the organisation’s existing financial reserves could instead be used to expand the FIFA Forward programme and support football development across the CONCACAF region.

Finally, they directed their FIFA Council members to insist that any future proposal follows FIFA’s established governance procedures and complies fully with the FIFA Statutes.

The statement concluded with a clear message about who should control football’s future.

“Through these actions, Concacaf reaffirms that football’s future and its greatest asset must remain in the hands of our football family.”

CONCACAF’s decision comes less than a week after UEFA launched its own sharp criticism of FIFA’s investment plans.

In two strongly worded statements, UEFA accused FIFA of attempting to commercialise the governance of football, declaring that “football is not FIFA’s to sell.” The European governing body also criticised what it described as a lack of transparency surrounding the proposal and questioned reports that member associations were given limited time to either support the plan or risk losing access to a one-off financial payment.

Together, UEFA and CONCACAF represent 96 national football associations, making them the first two continental confederations to publicly reject the proposal.

FIFA has argued that the planned FIFA Forward Enterprise would generate billions of dollars through minority private investment while allowing the organisation to retain full control over sporting and governance decisions. According to FIFA, the additional funding would strengthen football development programmes around the world.

However, the growing opposition suggests many football leaders believe FIFA already has sufficient financial resources to support global football without bringing private equity investors into the commercial ownership of its flagship competitions.

With resistance now coming from two of football’s six continental confederations, pressure is mounting on FIFA to either provide greater transparency or reconsider one of the most controversial governance proposals in the sport’s modern history.