AFC president doubles down on FIFA, calling World Cup plan ‘unacceptable’

Asian Football Confederation chief slams lack of consultation over plan to sell FIFA World Cup stakes and says it undermines sport’s continental structure.Asian Football Confederation ‌(AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has branded FIFA’s lack of consultation over its plan ⁠to sell stakes in ⁠the World Cup to private investors “totally unacceptable”, saying the move undermined the sport’s existing continental structure.The Bahraini’s unusually forthright comments were made in a letter sent on Thursday to ⁠the regional body’s 47 member associations, which was seen by the Reuters news agency.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Viral finger-clicker suspended as cricket storm remains in global spotlightlist 2 of 3South Africa’s le Clos breaks Commonwealth Games medal recordlist 3 of 3Storm apologize after co-owner berates teen girls for support of Cunninghamend of listFIFA on Tuesday said it planned to create a $20bn commercial subsidiary to run the World Cup and its other events, drawing ⁠criticism from regional confederations, including the AFC, which said they were blindsided by the announcement.“The AFC notes with great concern and disappointment that it was not consulted by FIFA at any level prior to the public announcement of this proposal,” Sheikh Salman wrote.“And nor has it received any detailed governance, financial or legal ‌analysis of the proposal and its potential repercussions, which is totally unacceptable.“Furthermore, the AFC is deeply concerned that FIFA’s unilateral actions appear to undermine the very foundations of continental football, which are based on solidarity, cooperation and transparency.”The Kuala Lumpur-based AFC is one of FIFA’s six confederations and is responsible for running regional club and national team competitions across a vast expanse that encompasses continental Asia, the Middle East and Australia.The Bahraini said the proposal would not succeed without the support of ⁠all of the confederations.Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, FIFA senior vice president and president of the Asian Football Confederation, looks on as FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the 76th FIFA Congress 2026 [Bob Frid/EPA]Sheikh Salman called for FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s proposal ⁠to be “thoroughly examined and discussed through the appropriate legal and governance channels” and questioned the tight timeline given to member associations to approve the plan.