GENEVA, July 30. /TASS/. Member associations of Europe’s governing football body, UEFA, flatly rejected a proposal of the world’s governing body, FIFA, to sell World Cup rights to private investors, UEFA’s press office said in a statement on Thursday.

The Times daily reported earlier that FIFA President Gianni Infantino planned to sell a share of the World Cup commercial rights to private investors under a scheme that could potentially bring him tens of millions of pounds. The plan involves the establishment of a company that will control the major men's and women's FIFA tournaments - the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. The daily noted that the organization consulted with people close to the administration of US President Donald Trump.

"UEFA and its 55 member associations stand as one. We unanimously and unequivocally reject FIFA’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors," the statement from the UEFA reads.

"The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of football’s greatest sporting legacies. It has been built over generations by players, national teams and supporters across every continent. No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale," according to the UEFA.

"It is both irresponsible and indefensible that a proposal of such significance for football was conceived in secret and brought to the brink of approval without any meaningful consultation with those entrusted with stewarding the game. This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA’s duty as the custodian of world football," UEFA stated.

"National associations around the world are now presented with an ultimatum: accept the irreversible capture of football’s greatest competitions or bear the consequences. This is not a ‘democratic decision,’ but governance by intimidation - an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game," the statement continued.

"Nobody should be in any doubt: UEFA and its national associations will oppose these plans with absolute determination. There are moments when institutions are judged not by what they are prepared to accept, but by what they refuse to compromise. This is one of those moments."

"Some things are simply too important to sell. The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale," the statement added.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced earlier in the day that the creation of FIFA Forward Enterprise, which is set to become a subsidiary of the world’s governing football body, FIFA, would boost the profits of FIFA member associations and contribute to the development of football worldwide.

"FIFA Forward Enterprise is a proposal, an opportunity and part of a democratic consultation process with the 211 FIFA Member Associations and the FIFA Council," Infantino stated on his page on Instagram (banned in Russia as it’s owned by Meta Corporation, which is designated as an extremist organization in Russia).

"If approved, it would become a FIFA-owned and controlled subsidiary, consolidating FIFA’s commercial and event operations by commercializing and organizing all FIFA-owned competitions, along with sponsorship, broadcast, licensing and new ventures, for the benefit of FIFA Member Associations, unlocking previously uncaptured commercial value.".