Football Australia and AFC welcome Fifa climbdown on World Cup sell-off plan

Football Australia and the Asian Football Confederation have welcomed Fifa’s climbdown over its failed plan to sell chunks of the World Cup to private investors, with FA chair Anter Isaac saying some principles of football “should never change”. Fifa president Gianni Infantino on Saturday confirmed the controversial Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal had been scrapped following widespread backlash led by Uefa, which asserted its member nations would boycott all Fifa tournaments unless the plan was withdrawn. FA had resisted immediate criticism of the proposal, asking instead for more information to digest and “properly assess” the implications as part of a consultation process before it formed an official position. The Asian Football Confederation, of which Australia is a part, had stopped short of threatening a boycott but issued a strongly-worded statement that echoed Uefa’s concerns. Concacaf, which is responsible for North and Central America and the Caribbean, also strongly opposed the sell-off. In a statement on Saturday, Isaac acknowledged that football should never stand still but certain principles of the game should not be tampered with. “The discussions of recent days have reinforced an important principle of good governance: proposals of global significance should be developed through robust consultation, appropriate governance processes and meaningful engagement with member associations before they are presented for consideration,” Isaac said. “Football has never stood still, nor should it. Some principles, however, should never change. Integrity. Independence. Good governance. Transparency. Meaningful consultation. Due process. “These are not constraints on progress. They are what make lasting progress possible. Ultimately, the strength of football’s institutions depends on the confidence and trust of the global football family. That trust is earned not simply through good decisions, but through the integrity of the processes that lead to them. “Our attention must now turn to the future.” AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa also welcomed Fifa’s decision to stand down from its plans, which aimed to raise up to $4.2bn by selling about a 20% stake to private investors in the newly created FFE, which would run the World Cup and other Fifa events. Sheikh Salman said he expected “any initiative that ‌has the potential to impact global football will be presented and discussed with the confederations, the Fifa Council, member associations and other stakeholders in a timely, transparent and meaningful manner”. “The future of global football must always be shaped through proper consultation, collective dialogue and respect for the established governance structures of our game,” he added in a letter posted on the AFC’s website. The AFC represents 47 member nations, including Australia, along with the likes of China, Japan and Saudi Arabia.