Premier League chief says FIFA ‘self-destructed’ over World Cup plan

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has accused FIFA of damaging itself through its abandoned plan to sell a 21% stake in commercial and ticketing rights for the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to a private investment company.

The proposal, known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), was intended to create a separate company to manage those rights. It was dropped after opposition from several confederations, with UEFA threatening to boycott FIFA competitions. Masters said the English Football Association was right to withdraw its support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino and called for a candidate capable of bringing football’s governing bodies together.

The Premier League has also backed the FA’s position. Infantino is scheduled to seek a fourth term as FIFA president in March, although no challenger had declared a candidacy before the 18 November deadline. Masters said any alternative candidate should make FIFA reform and a review of the president’s role part of their programme.

UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation recently accused FIFA and Infantino of damaging trust through the way the FFE proposal was handled. By contrast, the African, South American and Oceania confederations have supported Infantino, who also received backing from senior football executives at a meeting in Morocco earlier this month.

The dispute has also been followed by the dismissal of FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, who joined the organisation from UEFA less than two years ago. Lamour had publicly criticised the investment plan and the way it was presented, arguing that FIFA’s administration had been misled and that Infantino was acting as though he personally represented the organisation.

Masters also criticised FIFA’s handling of the suspension of a red-card ban imposed on United States striker Folarin Balogun during the recent World Cup in North America. Balogun was sent off against Bosnia-Herzegovina, but the automatic one-match suspension was put on hold for a year after a request from United States president Donald Trump. The striker played against Belgium in the last 16, when the United States lost 4-1.