Fifpro demands review into Gianni Infantino’s failed World Cup sell-off plan

Global players' union Fifpro has supported calls for an independent review of Fifa's governance following the backlash over a controversial World Cup private investment plan.

Scrutiny remains on Fifa president Gianni Infantino over his management of the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal. Under the scheme, private investors would have acquired a 20 per cent stake in a business managing commercial operations for Fifa events, including the men’s and women’s World Cups.

The project was dropped following rejection by three continental confederations, including European governing body Uefa, which threatened to boycott Fifa tournaments unless the plan was scrapped and assurances provided that no similar attempt would recur.

On 27 August, Uefa withdrew its boycott threat but confirmed it was working to field a credible alternative candidate against Infantino for the presidency at next year’s Congress, having "lost confidence" in him. Uefa also requested an independent review into the FFE decision-making process.

Fifpro and Fifpro Europe backed that demand on Monday "so that no single office can act unilaterally again".

Uefa has made it clear that it no longer supports Infantino (Nick Potts/PA) (PA Wire)

The union also requested the formal inclusion of player, club and league representatives within the Fifa Council’s decision-making structure.

Fifa committed to reviewing the FFE process on 5 August, though it gave no details on who would undertake the task. It also appeared to pre-empt the findings by stating in its announcement that "everything that was done was done in full compliance with the FIFA regulatory framework".

A Fifpro report published on Monday outlined how football’s financial value is created, stating this illustrated why "the infrastructure underpinning football’s global workforce cannot be treated as a sellable and undervalued asset".

Fifa listed FFE’s value at $20 billion (£14.84 billion) on 28 July. Uefa later described that figure as "fraudulently off-market" in American court filings seeking document disclosure regarding the proposal.

Despite calls for Infantino to resign, Fifa confirmed earlier this month that he plans to stand in next year’s election as he seeks a fourth term as president.