00:00FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defended plans to sell stakes in the World Cup,
00:05saying they are an opportunity, not an obligation.
00:09He said strengthening football's commercial side is a natural next step,
00:14adding that any deal would require approval from FIFA's member associations and its council.
00:21Well, FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE, is actually a proposal, an offer.
00:29It's part of a democratic process, a consultation process, and above all, it is an opportunity,
00:40but not an obligation, and as I said, it kicks off the consultation process.
00:48If, and only if, it is approved by the majority of our 211 member associations and the FIFA Council,
00:57it would be a FIFA-owned and controlled subsidiary consolidating FIFA's commercial and event operations.
01:07FIFA this week said it planned to create a $20 billion subsidiary known as FIFA Forward Enterprise
01:13to run the World Cup and its other events.
01:16It hopes to raise $4.2 billion by selling up to a 20% stake to minority investors.
01:23Infantino said that once the deal is finalised, each of FIFA's 211 member associations
01:29could receive $40 million if they back the plan before the September 19 deadline.
01:35But the plan has drawn sharp criticism from regional football confederations,
01:39which say they were blindsided by the move to bring private investors into the sport.
01:44On Thursday, Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa
01:49called FIFA's lack of consultation totally unacceptable,
01:54saying the move would undermine football's existing continental structure.
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