The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has joined UEFA and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) in opposing FIFA’s proposed commercial investment plan, piling further pressure on football’s governing body over its controversial proposal to allow private investors to acquire stakes in its competitions.
The latest opposition represents another setback for FIFA President Gianni Infantino, whose proposal seeks to establish a FIFA-owned commercial subsidiary that would attract external investment to boost revenue for global football development while leaving the governance of the game under FIFA’s control.
In a statement released on Friday, the AFC said it stood in solidarity with UEFA and CONCACAF, arguing that the proposal lacked the broad support needed to move forward.
“The FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of global football and derives its strength from the participation of all confederations and the world’s leading football nations.
“Any proposal that risks undermining the unity and universal character of the competition must be reconsidered,” the confederation said.
The AFC also faulted FIFA’s consultation process, saying confederations and member associations were not adequately engaged before the proposal was unveiled.
According to the Asian football body, the process exposed significant weaknesses in FIFA’s governance and decision-making structure.
“The AFC calls upon FIFA to undertake an urgent review of its governance and decision-making framework to ensure that proposals of global significance are developed through proper consultation, meaningful engagement and appropriate oversight by FIFA’s statutory bodies,” the statement added.
The AFC’s position further complicates FIFA’s path to securing approval for the proposal.
FIFA has indicated that the plan would require the support of a simple majority of its 211 member associations, meaning at least 106 votes would be needed for it to pass. UEFA’s 55 members, CONCACAF’s 41 associations and the AFC’s 46 members account for 142 potential votes, giving the three confederations significant influence over the outcome.
The development comes barely 24 hours after UEFA threatened to boycott future FIFA competitions, including the 2030 FIFA World Cup, if the proposal proceeds, while CONCACAF also announced that its member associations had unanimously rejected the plan.
Despite mounting opposition, FIFA has insisted that the World Cup and other competitions are not being sold.
The governing body has maintained that the proposal is solely aimed at creating a commercial subsidiary that would remain fully owned and controlled by FIFA while attracting strategic investors to strengthen the commercial value of its flagship tournaments.
FIFA has repeatedly stressed that investors would have no role in football governance, tournament formats or sporting decisions, insisting that all decisions relating to the World Cup and other competitions would remain under the authority of FIFA’s Congress and Council.
However, critics argue that introducing private investors into FIFA’s commercial operations could place financial interests ahead of the long-term development and integrity of the global game.
While Europe, North and Central America, and Asia have now publicly rejected the proposal, South America’s governing body, CONMEBOL, has yet to announce its position. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) are expected to deliberate on the proposal during meetings scheduled for August.
If approved, FIFA believes the new commercial structure would unlock greater investment for football development across the world, but growing resistance from major continental confederations has cast fresh doubt over the future of the proposal.
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