Geneva, July 29 -- FIFA has proposed creating a commercial subsidiary and selling minority stakes to private investors to fund a sharp increase in development funding for its 211 member associations, drawing fierce criticism from UEFA, with European associations expected to meet this week to discuss their response.
FIFA Forward Enterprise would bring together FIFA's commercial rights -- including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing -- with the operational delivery of its tournaments. FIFA would seek to raise up to 4.2 billion U.S. dollars by selling minority, non-controlling stakes in the company, based on an initial equity valuation of 20 billion dollars.
The proposal requires the support of a majority of FIFA's member ass...