Overview
- New Zealand Football and the Football Association of Ireland withdrew their support on Friday, citing a breakdown of trust and calling for an independent review of the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.
- FIFA formally withdrew the FFE plan and issued an apology after reports showed the scheme would have created a roughly $20 billion commercial vehicle and sold about 20% of World Cup rights to raise roughly $4.2 billion, with media linking investor group Thrive Eternal to the deal.
- UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC published a joint letter accusing FIFA leadership of deception and demanding independent scrutiny, while the Confederation of African Football and CONMEBOL have continued to back Gianni Infantino.
- Senior European figures have discussed a vote of no confidence and UEFA has taken legal‑preservation steps that could lead to arbitration or litigation ahead of the March 2027 presidential vote.
- The row has become politicized internationally, with public defenses from US President Donald Trump and Andrew Giuliani, and it has forced member federations to weigh one‑off payments offered under the plan against longer‑term governance and transparency concerns.