‘The emperor is naked’: UEFA’s Ceferin takes aim at FIFA boss Infantino

What the report says

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has sharply criticised FIFA President Gianni Infantino over a shelved proposal that would have allowed private investors to buy a stake in FIFA’s commercial rights. Speaking at the European Football Clubs General Assembly in Copenhagen on Tuesday, Ceferin used Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes” to argue that the project had been presented with misleading language and that the governing body’s explanations did not match the reality of the plan.

According to Al Jazeera’s report, the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise project would have created a FIFA-controlled commercial subsidiary tied to major competitions such as the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup. It reportedly could have opened the door for investors to acquire up to 20 percent of that entity. Infantino had described the initiative as a way to raise more money for football development and said it would involve consultation with FIFA’s 211 member associations, but the proposal was dropped after broad opposition.

Ceferin argued that terms such as “development,” “democratisation” and “consultation” were being used to justify a process that, in his view, did the opposite. He also warned against secret negotiations and decision-making that exclude clubs, national associations and supporters. The dispute matters because it highlights continuing tension between football’s governing bodies over transparency, commercial control and how the sport’s future is financed.