FIFPRO Accuses FIFA of Abusing Power Over FFE Initiative

Players’ union FIFPRO has accused FIFA of a “profound abuse of presidential power” after the world governing body withdrew its controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal and apologised for how the project was handled.

The FFE initiative, which was reportedly designed to reshape the commercial structure and governance of the FIFA World Cup, was abandoned following an emergency meeting in Rabat, Morocco. FIFA admitted mistakes were made during the process and pledged to review how the proposal was handled.

However, FIFPRO insists that withdrawing the project does not resolve the wider governance concerns exposed by the episode.

“FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) is gone. The abuse of power that produced it is not. Governance reforms, not a cover‑up, are urgently needed,” the union said.

The withdrawal of FFE was inevitable, but it does not erase what the plan revealed. A proposal capable of permanently altering the ownership and governance of the FIFA World Cup, and commercialising the competitions built by generations of players, was conceived in secrecy, negotiated behind closed doors and brought to the brink of agreement before the FIFA Council, member associations, players and football’s recognised stakeholders even knew it existed.

“That is not merely a governance failure. It is a profound abuse of presidential power,” FIFPRO added.

The union also criticised FIFA’s response after the Rabat meeting, arguing that the governing body failed to address the seriousness of the issue and instead reaffirmed support for its leadership while reducing a fundamental governance and constitutional failure to a matter of “processes and communications” to be “improved”.

FIFPRO noted FIFA’s internal update from the meeting with deep concern, saying that if everything was done “in full compliance with the FIFA regulatory framework”, that is not a defence but an indictment of the current governance system.

The union rejected FIFA’s warning that it will no longer tolerate attacks on its integrity, stating that scrutiny of football’s governance is a duty, not an attack.

FIFA admitted the FFE proposal should have been handled differently and said it had never intended for the FIFA Council or its 211 member associations to feel excluded from decision‑making.

The governing body acknowledged further mistakes after details of the proposal emerged in the media, sent a formal apology to the FIFA Council and member associations, and pledged to prevent a repeat of the situation.