A little over a week since the 2026 men’s World Cup final, world soccer appears on the brink of war.

The main battleground is a proposal from FIFA president Gianni Infantino to sell off a key function of the not-for-profit association.

It has even led to a threat from some European nations to boycott upcoming World Cups.

So, why is Infantino’s proposal so controversial and why are so many nations against the plan?

The FIFA Forward Enterprise

Infantino’s idea is to create a $US20 billion (A$29 billion) commercial subsidiary, named the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), to run major competitions such as the men’s and women’s World Cups and club World Cups.

The plan would need to be approved by FIFA’s 211 national member associations, which would then be able to access this capital to support their development programs.

While Infantino describes this as the “democratisation of football [soccer] worldwide”, his proposed partial privatisation of FIFA has provoked strong opposition.

Critics include new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and FIFA’s most powerful confederation, UEFA (the Union of European Football Associations).

The European governing body complains Infantino’s plan “crosses a line” by trading the “soul and governance of football”.

UEFA has called an emergency meeting to discuss a response, including a potential World........

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