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 (July 30, 2026), to the regional body's 47 member national football federations, which was seen by Reuters.

FIFA on Tuesday (July 28, 2026), said it planned to create a $20 billion 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 West Asia and Australia.

The Bahraini said the proposal would not succeed without the support of all of the confederations.

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.

Infantino said in a letter to all 211 football associations this week that they would receive $40 million each if they agreed to FIFA's proposal by September 19.

"The AFC is also surprised that the current timeline allows an extremely limited period for consideration of a proposal of such significance, when such decisions should never be rushed," wrote Sheikh Salman.

He asked the confederation's members to avoid making a decision on the proposal until the AFC had engaged in further discussions with FIFA.

"The AFC kindly requests all [member associations] to await the outcome of these consultations and the completion of the necessary review processes before reaching any position regarding the proposal," he wrote.

"I assure you that the AFC remains fully committed to working constructively with all [member associations], FIFA and stakeholders to advance the interests of football and ensure that the continued growth of the game is built on a foundation of trust, transparency and unity."

FIFA did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the letter.

Published - July 30, 2026 05:09 pm IST