Uefa led the backlash against Fifa after world football's governing body announced plans to seek private investment in the World Cup.
Led by president Gianni Infantino, Fifa wants to create a new commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion and is seeking backing from its 211 member associations.
The plan proposes the creation of the Fifa Forward Enterprise to consolidate the organisation's commercial and event operations.
Fifa said it would retain sole control as well as “exclusive authority” over football governance, competitions, the match calendar and all regulatory and sporting decisions.
Under the proposal, external investors would be invited to buy minority, non-controlling stakes in the FFE to raise up to $4.2 billion.
Uefa, European football's governing body, immediately issued a condemnation: “Fifa's plan crosses a line that football's governing institutions should never cross," it said.
Fifa says the money raised can be used to increase access to the sport and strengthen global participation, with all net benefits to be reinvested in the game.
“Football is the world's most popular sport and an extraordinary engine of human and social development,” Infantino said in a statement.
“Parts of the game have turned that popularity into remarkable commercial value – and we celebrate that success and want it to continue, because it lifts the whole game.
“Our job is to make sure the rest of football grows with it: Fifa exists to support sustainable, inclusive development in every corner of the world.”
Fifa is a non-profit organisation and enjoys tax-free status in Switzerland. It is one of the world's wealthiest sporting bodies, generating billions of dollars in revenue, largely from broadcasting rights, sponsorship and other commercial deals linked to the World Cup.
David Kilpatrick, a football historian and professor at Mercy College, said the commercialisation of Fifa is not an entirely new concept. Its partnership with Coca-Cola goes back to the 1970s.
"But this would be taking it to a whole other level," he said. "You just kind of have to wonder at what cost in the long term, and I think Uefa is quite quite right to be cynical and suspicious about selling the soul of the game to private interests."
Infantino has suggested the most recent World Cup cycle of 2022-2026 could see Fifa's revenue reach a record $15 billion, most of which came from this summer's tournament.
'Football is not Fifa's to sell'
The proposal immediately drew fierce criticism from Uefa, which warned that the plan was a threat to the future of the world game.
“Uefa takes it extremely seriously,” it said in a statement. “So should every national football association. So should every stakeholder: leagues, clubs, players, supporters, governments and everyone who cares about the future of the game.
“The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade – especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not Fifa's to sell.”
Uefa and Fifa have not seen eye to eye on governance in recent years. Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin refused to attend the World Cup final after a series of disagreements over disciplinary procedures, refereeing logistics and match operations.
Fifa said the proposal will soon be presented to the 211 member associations and the Fifa Council, which would be the sole final decision-makers on the matter.
Fifa said it would also establish an optional programme that would allow member associations to receive additional development funding and access up to $20 million in one-off capital.
It said it aims to increase funding for each member association from $8 million to $20 million for the 2027-30 cycle and grow steadily, looking to $24 million by the 2035-2038 cycle.
Infantino, who is up for re-election as head of Fifa next year, said every member association should have the opportunity to seek a fair share of the available funding to shape its own future.
“This is about the democratisation of football worldwide,” he said.
The proposal comes at a time when Infantino has faced fierce criticism after a series of scandals during the World Cup.
That includes the US travel ban that affected supporters and officials from many countries, including Somali referee Omar Artan, high ticket prices and Fifa's breaking of its own rules to ensure US striker Folarin Balogun's red card was suspended after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Infantino.
Ties to Trump family
Fifa is working with bankers at JPMorgan to bring in external investors to take as much as a 20 per cent stake in the entity.
Reuters reported that former Liberty Media chief executive Greg Maffei has been involved as a commercial adviser on the creation of the Fifa enterprise.
Thrive Eternal, a new investment strategy launched by venture capital firm Thrive Capital, is expected to be a lead investor.
Thrive Eternal took a minority stake in Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants this year. It was founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. Former Walt Disney chief executive Bob Iger is an adviser.
“Outside investors will have only a minority stake in FFE and will not play any operational role,” Fifa said. “Equally, they are investing in a subsidiary of Fifa, and not in Fifa itself. For Fifa, nothing changes.”
