The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) issued an official statement today, announcing solidarity with UEFA and CONCACAF to jointly defend the World Cup and oppose the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan proposed by FIFA. With the AFC clarifying its stance, FIFA’s proposal is likely to be stillborn.
British media outlet the Daily Mail points out that UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC have all joined the opposition camp against FIFA. As a result, Infantino’s controversial plan to sell off the World Cup appears to have collapsed completely.
The previous night, after UEFA announced a boycott of relevant tournaments and CONCACAF publicly opposed the plan, FIFA released a statement reaffirming its commitment to the FFE proposal.
However, the AFC has now aligned itself with fellow continental confederations, dealing a fatal threat to Infantino’s project and even his position as FIFA President.
At present, 136 FIFA member associations have publicly rejected the proposal, exceeding the threshold of 106 votes required to block the plan.
The Daily Telegraph also notes that the combined voting power of Asian, North American, Central American and European football bodies means Infantino cannot reach the required 50% voting threshold, effectively making it impossible for the controversial plan to pass for now.
Furthermore, CAF and OFC have stated they will hold meetings to evaluate and review FIFA’s proposal. Only CONMEBOL has yet to make any public statement on the matter.
