Tribal Football

"Nobody is selling football!": FIFA defend controversial World Cup plans amid backlash

"Nobody is selling football!": FIFA defend controversial World Cup plans amid backlash
"Nobody is selling football!": FIFA defend controversial World Cup plans amid backlashREUTERS

FIFA have backed their World Cup plans this week as controversy grows.

After European nations unanimously united against the plans to sell of rights to the World Cup, FIFA released a statement on Friday as they defended the widely hated proposal. 

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"We respect the feedback and concern aired in public and reaffirm our commitment to an open and democratic consultation," the statement read. 

 "We will proceed with this consultation process to ensure that each MA (member association) has the ability to express its vote based on facts. 

 "Nobody is selling football. This is not something Fifa would ever entertain." 

CONCACAF also rejected the idea of the proposals as they expressed "deep concerns" surrounding "the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governance bodies". 

Sheikh Salman, an ally to Infantino since losing the FIFA presidential election to him in 2016, wrote "such an initiative will not succeed without the support of all the confederations, which is not the case now." 

The Premier League, the FA, Prime Minister Andy Burnham and many other federations and figures have ridiculed FIFA’s plans which must be decided on by the 19th September if countries want to access an initial $20m (£15m). 

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