KNVB "very concerned" by FIFA plans to sell World Cup shares

The KNVB is very concerned about FIFA’s plans to sell shares in the World Cup. “Based on what has been released so far, we consider this a very worrying development for international football,” the Dutch Football Association told NU.nl.

FIFA announced on Tuesday that it intends to consolidate the commercial rights of future World Cups and place them in a new subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). To raise funds for this initiative, FIFA plans to sell World Cup shares to private investors, up to a maximum of 20 percent of the shares.

The plan sparks unease at the KNVB, the Dutch association said. “At the same time, we have not yet received the official details of the proposal. There are still many questions. We also expect to hold consultations about this with UEFA and the other European associations in the short term.”

UEFA is organizing an emergency digital meeting with all 55 European associations, including the KNVB. The goal is to adopt a joint position on FIFA’s plans. It is not yet clear when the meeting will take place.

“As soon as the official details of this plan are available, we will jointly study and discuss the proposal carefully,” the KNVB told the newspaper. “For us, the interests of football, good governance, and transparency must always be the guiding principles.