The Scottish Football Association will voice its concerns over FIFA president Gianni Infantino's plan to sell off the World Cup at an emergency meeting convened by UEFA.
Infantino wants to create a commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) to run FIFA's main events, including the World Cup. He has set a September 19 deadline for FIFA's 211 member associations to sign off on the deal in exchange for an initial payment of $20 million. Nations that do not approve the plan by that date have been warned they would receive only around a quarter of that sum.
SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell and president Mike Mulraney are both attending the meeting of UEFA's 55 member associations. Although Mulraney chairs FIFA's financial committee, Maxwell is expected to make the SFA's misgivings clear. Hampden chiefs are said to be stunned by the lack of detail in the proposal and the speed with which Infantino is pushing it through.
UEFA has accused FIFA of "using our sport to enrich themselves and their friends" after details of the September 19 deadline emerged. Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham has accused Infantino of "selling out."
"Today we have learned of FIFA's deadline to associations to support their proposals or have the one-off payout offer withdrawn. This says everything you need to know about this plan," UEFA said in a statement.
FIFA insists FFE would increase football development funding to national associations and bring FIFA's total planned spending on development to more than $10 billion over the next four years. The governing body also said it plans to select long-term investors who would purchase minority, non-controlling interests in FFE.
It has since emerged that Thrive Eternal, a company launched by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, would lead the proposed investor group. Critics claim selling equity to private investors could open the door to the World Cup being staged every two years.
Options including a boycott of FIFA tournaments and a potential breakaway are expected to be discussed at the meeting. The Czech Republic is reported to be the only European nation supporting Infantino's plan.
