MADRID: Spanish football giants Real Madrid have welcomed FIFA’s decision to abandon its controversial proposal to allow private investment in the FIFA World Cup and other major international competitions, describing the reversal as a victory for football and its supporters.
The world football governing body, led by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, officially dropped the proposal on Friday following widespread opposition from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and several other continental football confederations.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Spanish club hailed the decision as a positive development for the sport.
Our club believes this is good news for football, for its institutions and, above all, for the millions of fans of our beloved sport,” Real Madrid said.
The club also expressed appreciation to UEFA, football confederations, national federations and other stakeholders who opposed the proposal, praising their collective efforts in protecting the integrity of the game.
“Real Madrid wishes to express its gratitude to UEFA, the confederations and federations, and to all the institutions that firmly and responsibly opposed this project.
Their unity and sense of duty have protected football at a decisive moment,” the club added.
The proposal, announced by FIFA earlier in the week, sought to establish a commercial subsidiary responsible for managing the organisation’s flagship competitions, including the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Under the plan, the new commercial entity would have been open to private investment, with FIFA estimating the initiative could generate as much as $4.2 billion in additional revenue.
However, the proposal sparked strong criticism from UEFA, which argued that introducing private investors into football’s premier competitions could undermine the governance and independence of the sport.
UEFA reportedly threatened to boycott FIFA competitions if the proposal moved forward and expressed a loss of confidence in Infantino’s leadership, intensifying pressure on the FIFA president before the governing body eventually abandoned the plan.
Real Madrid’s support for UEFA’s position marks a notable shift in the relationship between the Spanish club and European football’s governing body.
The club was one of the founding members of the breakaway European Super League project, a competition that triggered a bitter dispute with UEFA after its announcement in 2021.
However, in February 2026, Real Madrid announced that it had reached an understanding with UEFA aimed at strengthening European club football, bringing years of strained relations between both parties to an end.
FIFA’s decision to withdraw the investment proposal has been widely viewed as a significant victory for UEFA and other football stakeholders who argued that the World Cup and other major competitions should remain under the exclusive control of football’s governing institutions rather than private investors.
The reversal also highlights the growing influence of football’s continental confederations in shaping major governance decisions affecting the global game.
