GENEVA (AP) 鈥� Asia鈥檚 soccer body joined opposition to to buy stakes in the and said Friday FIFA must urgently review its management style.
The Asian Football Confederation said it 鈥渟tands in solidarity鈥� with European body UEFA and North America鈥檚 CONCACAF which on Thursday respectively and rejected Infantino鈥檚 offer of one-off $20 million payments to each member federation.
鈥淔ootball should never have been placed in such a position,鈥� , which counts 46 of FIFA’s 211 member federations that Infantino gave a Sept. 19 deadline to accept the $20 million offer.
Infantino has proposed spinning off FIFA’s commercial businesses 鈥� including World Cups and Club World Cups for men and women 鈥� into a $20 billion subsidiary with 20% owned by private investors.
The 鈥渁nchor investor,鈥� described by FIFA, is a New York-based investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 son-in-law Jared Kushner.
鈥�(T)he proposed (FIFA Forward Enterprise) cannot realistically achieve the necessary broad consensus and unity required to move forward鈥� and must be reconsidered, the AFC said.
The statement did not name Infantino yet criticized FIFA for problems beyond the content of the private equity plan plus failing to consult about a secretive proposal that was revealed Tuesday in media reports.
鈥淩ather, it has exposed fundamental weaknesses in FIFA鈥檚 consultation and decision-making processes that must now be addressed,鈥� the AFC said. 鈥淎ccordingly, the AFC calls upon FIFA to undertake an urgent review of its governance and decision-making framework.鈥�
The statement came hours after FIFA blamed the media and doubled down on pursuing the project which now seems to have a majority of the 211 members in opposition.
鈥淥ur planned consultation process was disrupted by incorrect media reports,鈥� . 鈥淲e will proceed with this consultation process to ensure that each (member) has the ability to express its vote based on facts.鈥�
The next FIFA event that would be targeted by the threatened European boycott is within weeks 鈥� the Women鈥檚 Under-20 World Cup hosted by Poland from Sept. 5. The four British federations comprise FIFA鈥檚 only bidder to host the 2035 Women鈥檚 World Cup. That decision is due Nov. 23.
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