Nyon/Switzerland, August 01 (QNA) - The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has welcomed FIFA's decision to withdraw its plan to sell a stake in its competitions -including the World Cup- into private hands.
"The proposal was unanimously rejected by UEFA's national associations and by many other federations and confederations of all sizes around the world, whose job it is to protect football," UEFA said in a statement today. 
"UEFA will begin work immediately with partners and stakeholders all over the world and right across the game to propose a new way of distributing resources through the existing FIFA Forward programme," the statement said.
UEFA's stance followed FIFA's decision to abandon the project, after similar criticism from the Asian Football Confederation, while other federations expressed reservations about the proposal.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced in a statement on Saturday that the organization was backing down from its plan to open the world's governing body of football to private sector investors, following a wave of criticism and concerns about commodifying football, amid questions about potential conflicts of interest.
Infantino said: "After carefully listening to all points of view, it became clear that the project had created divisions that no longer served the fundamental purpose for which it was launched."
Infantino's reversal comes at a time when FIFA is facing additional pressure following the recent resignation of its chief advisor, Carlos Cordeiro.
Last Tuesday, FIFA had unexpectedly unveiled a plan to increase funding for football development to USD 10 billion over the next four years, but the plan was met with widespread criticism regarding its content and the way it was presented. (QNA)