Women's Football Faces First Blow from FIFA Investment Plan

Women's football will be the first to suffer if FIFA president Gianni Infantino's plan to sell stakes in competitions to private investors goes ahead, according to former England defender Anita Asante. Her warning comes as European football's 55 member associations voted to boycott all FIFA competitions until the governing body drops the proposals.

UEFA's stance will first be tested when the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup starts on 5 September in Poland. Asante told BBC Sport: "The first casualties will be women's football tournaments. I don't think FIFA have considered the implications of their decision." The Polish Football Association (PZPN) said on Friday it has not received any information about teams withdrawing from the competition, and preparations are continuing as planned.

Upcoming Women's Tournaments at Risk

In October, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales all have qualifiers for next summer's Women's World Cup in Brazil. The Under-17 Women's World Cup is also scheduled to take place in October in Morocco. Asante expressed frustration over the uncertainty: "That's what's so frustrating for players. You can't take for granted the opportunity to play in the World Cup. If this isn't resolved by the time of England's qualifiers, then the impact could be huge and it is already a busy schedule."

FIFA's Response and Regional Opposition

In response to UEFA's boycott, FIFA said on Friday "nobody is selling football" and claimed the consultation process has been "disrupted by incorrect media reports." Concacaf, which governs football in North and Central America and hosted this year's World Cup, said its 41 member associations have "rejected" FIFA's proposal. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has published a statement saying it "stands in solidarity" with its counterparts in Europe and North, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino, resigned from his position, calling the proposal "a bad deal for football" that would "mortgage football's future." Asante welcomed the unified stance: "I was really pleased to see that UEFA had taken the position that they have, and they were very clear with their directive and firm about how they want this to go. It's taking away what the essence of football is about and tournaments are about. Women could be the casualties here yet again."

Former FA Director Calls Plan 'Tragic'

Former FA director of women's football Baroness Campbell described the potential impact as "tragic." Speaking to BBC Sport's Jo Currie, she said: "I think it's a real shame, but equally, I'm absolutely supportive of them [the regional federations] standing up for what they believe is right for the sport. I'm a great believer sport must be pure - it doesn't mean I don't think commercial investment isn't important, it's massively important, but it mustn't take over the game."

Details of Infantino's Plans

FIFA and Infantino want to create a commercial subsidiary to run its main events, including its World Cups, and external investors will be able to buy stakes in it. FIFA said it would "invite third parties to make minority, non-controlling investments" in a new subsidiary - FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). Infantino has set a deadline of 19 September for football federations to accept his controversial plans.

In a 25-page document created by investment bank JP Morgan, FIFA's tournaments would expand to hit an estimated increased pay-out of 24 million euros per member association in the 2035-2039 cycle. The document mentions "new business initiatives" and "attracting top talent with incentive-driven compensation." The World Cup is described as the "most widely viewed" sporting event, but FIFA, by contrast, is said to be "under-monetised." Notably, there is no mention in the document of the women's game.