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The rushed deadline to claim an initial $20 million “says everything you need to know about this plan,” UEFA said. “FIFA cannot continue to use our sport to enrich themselves and their friends.” Dozens of member federations typically rely on FIFA for funding, have national teams with little realistic chance of qualifying for World Cups, and whose best players rarely, if ever, join clubs playing at the highest level of international competitions. The influential, 850-member European Football Clubs group — which has a joint venture with UEFA to manage the Champions League — said it “learned about this proposal in the same way as most global football stakeholders — without warning and through the media.” Inviting in private investors could also, sports governance academic Antoine Duval suggested Wednesday “incentivize FIFA to further commodify the World Cup (think more hydration breaks and dynamic pricing ) in a drive to increase its revenue.” If the FIFA Forward Enterprise subsidiary is approved by a majority of the 211 members, they also each are promised $20 million in funding from the four-year commercial cycle tied to the men’s 2030 World Cup.
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