UEFA, the governing body for European football, has scheduled an emergency meeting for its 55 member associations to discuss FIFA's recently unveiled World Cup plans. The announcement comes after significant criticism of both the proposals themselves and the process by which they were developed.
FIFA released an eight-page document on Wednesday evening outlining its rationale for the plans, stating that "too little of football's growing commercial value has reached the parts of the game that need it most." The organization suggests that its proposals would generate funding for improvements such as "better pitches, stronger national teams, more pathways for young players, and greater support for women's football."
FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended the plans in a video released by the organization, describing them as "an offer, not an obligation" and "a golden opportunity to turbocharge the development of the game globally." FIFA has pointed to the qualification of nations like Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan for the World Cup as evidence of positive impacts from its work, noting that the expansion of the competition to 48 teams contributed to this inclusivity. FIFA also cited organizations like Formula 1, La Liga, Ligue 1, and the Bundesliga as examples of sporting entities that utilize "dedicated commercial operations."
Concerns have been raised regarding the significant sums involved in FIFA's proposals, with questions about how these amounts compare to the annual spending of some member associations and the auditing of funds FIFA already distributes globally. FIFA has stated that private investors would "absolutely not" have any influence over the World Cup.
The emergency UEFA meeting is set to take place on Thursday afternoon.