International football body FIFA plans to sell shares of the commercial rights for the football World Cup to private investors. The proposal has sparked strong reactions from national federations and European actors.
FIFA announced on Tuesday that the organisation wants to start a new subsidiary to handle commercial rights for men's and women's tournaments, including the football World Cup. In total around 20 percent of the company is to be sold to external investors.
National football federations that vote yes to the proposal receive the equivalent of 388 million kronor each. A federation that votes no but the proposal still passes receives only half.
Swedish Football Federation chairman Simon Åström says there are questions that are principally more important for football than whether the federation gets the money or not. UEFA states that resistance to the setup is both large and growing.
French sports and youth minister Marina Ferrari welcomes an extra meeting at UEFA on Wednesday. Swedish sports minister Jakob Forssmed believes the proposal damages an already damaged trust in FIFA.
