Caf, the confederation for Africa, has displayed an openness to consider the proposal by Fifa and encouraged other members to take a similar attitude.

“The Confederation Africaine de Football (Caf) received correspondence today from Fifa on the proposed Fifa Forward Enterprise initiative, in accordance with the consultation process that is currently underway with Fifa Member Associations and the Fifa Council,” a statement read.

“As part of this consultation process, the Caf President, Dr Patrice Motsepe, will host a meeting of the Caf Executive Committee next week, to inter-alia, assess and evaluate the proposed Fifa Forward Enterprise initiative.

“Caf also encourages its Member Associations to examine the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal and participate in the consultation process in accordance with Caf and Fifa’s regulations and established procedures.

“Caf is committed to continue consulting and working together with its Member Associations, Fifa, other Football Confederations and stakeholders in support of increasing financial and other resources for the development and growth of football in Africa and worldwide.”

Fifa has announced plans to sell stakes in its tournaments, including the World Cup, to private investors, in a decision that has been described as “worse than the Super League”.

Under the new scheme, Fifa would retain majority control of a new enterprise, and the rest would be sold, partly to each of Fifa’s 211 national associations should they wish to invest, and partly to private investors.

The Independent’s Miguel Delaney dissects the controversial plan, the huge wave of backlash from across both the football community and politicians around the world, and what the long-term consequences could be.

It’s not just Uefa who have opposed the manner of how Gianni Infantino has gone about opening up the World Cup to outside investment. Fifa has been strongly criticised by Concacaf, football’s governing body for the Caribbean and North America, along with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for failing to consult on its shock plan to sell stakes in the World Cup.

AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa branded Fifa’s lack of consultation with its members as “totally unacceptable” in a latter to the regional body’s 47 member federations on Thursday, adding: "The AFC notes with great concern and disappointment that it was not consulted by FIFA at any level prior to the public announcement of this proposal.

“And nor has it received any detailed governance, financial or legal analysis of ⁠the proposal and its potential repercussions, which is totally unacceptable.

"Furthermore, the AFC is deeply concerned that Fifa’s unilateral actions appear to undermine the very foundations of continental football, which are based on solidarity, cooperation and transparency."

Gianni Infantino sent a letter to Fifa’s 211 member associations this week, which The Independent has seen, pitching his big idea to sell stakes in the World Cup to investors. In it, he promises some eye-watering numbers, including a $20m annual payment that will grow each year, and a $20m one-off payment for those nations who choose to participate.

Essentially: vote through my plans and you’ll receive $40m. Vote them down? You’ll only receive $10m.

It is an offer most football associations around the world simply can’t refuse. And amid Infantino’s spiel, another line stood out. His letter lays out the financial rewards on offer. “In exchange,” he writes, “all that is required is your continued trust – everything else remains the same.”

It reads like something The Godfather’s Vito Corleone might say.

Uefa's meeting will see federations discuss the threat of a boycott, in the manner that instantly killed Gianni Infantino’s plan to keep Russian teams in competition following the invasion of Ukraine, as well as consultation with the European Commission.

Sporting bodies are generally given exemptions from competition law by the EC due their cultural role, but private interests fly in the face of that.

It’s also precisely because of the attractiveness to smaller nations that some of the bigger powers feel they have to tread more diplomatically. They are fully aware of perceptions of major forces dictating everything to the rest of the game.

That is why a “deeply concerned” English Football Association is currently more intent on building alliances, despite a lot of pressure to take a stronger public stance.

Fifa’s broken political structure is one of clientelism, where money redistributed just serves as a vote-returning mechanism, and was supposed to be reformed when Gianni Infantino succeeded Sepp Blatter.

The threshold for approval has also been lowered from the usual 75 per cent to 50 per cent plus one. It is for all these reasons that stakeholders know that Fifa would win any vote. Enough current leaders will just see the money coming in now.

Even Uefa's emergency meeting will be held in the knowledge that many of their smaller members fully support Infantino.

That is despite the obvious problem that introducing private investment will just incorporate financial incentives that work against the smaller nations in the long term. Such investment partners would inevitably have an interest in core parts of the game, like the calendar, and all guided by the sole motivation of raising revenue.

Football’s major stakeholders are consequently determined to ensure that this never actually gets to a vote.

Not even Gianni Infantino’s inner circle or closest advisors at Fifa knew about his privatisation project - and were angered when the news emerged.

Many in football suspect that this plan was developed with financial interests connected to the wider Donald Trump family over the last year, explaining Josh Kushner’s current proximity.

Read more:

Fifa’s plan has provoked fury in most of the European game, to the point that an alliance of all major stakeholders is gaining strength.

Bodies including the Football Association, European Leagues, European Football Clubs, the Union of European Clubs, the Football Supporters Association and Football Supporters Europe have already released strident statements, mostly condemning the lack of proper process, but with some going much further and demanding drastic change at the top of the game.

Figures within the national associations and Uefa’s structure are most infuriated by the unilateral nature in which Gianni Infantino has come up with the plan as well as the very prospect of privatisation, and how it has been presented to federations with a limited timeframe of 53 days before what amounts to a binary vote amid the “bribery” of those who agree being guaranteed higher returns.

A key question being asked is how any of this was decided without presentation to any other part of football governance, right up to how JP Morgan has already been decided upon as a likely partner.

The anger is such that national associations are prepared to discuss the threat of boycott, or at least to use the idea as leverage to kill Infantino’s plans.

The English Football Association (FA) has said it was blindsided by Fifa’s proposed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and has expressed “deep concern” about the whole situation.

“We were completely unaware of this proposal and have no substantive details, including what the proposition actually is, and what conditions are attached,” a spokesperson said.

“Based on the limited information, we are deeply concerned about the lack of process and governance to get to this point, and the apparent substance and principles involved.

“When the proposal is shared in the full and transparent way now promised by Fifa, we will make our views clear, and comment further.”

Uefa may want its countries to be sining from the same hymn sheet as they attempt to block Gianni Infantino’s plans, but the president of the Czech Football Association has broken rank by supporting the Fifa president.

For Uefa, European football’s governing body, Trunda’s comments are an early blow to their hopes of launching a member-wide boycott of Fifa competitions. In order for a boycott to take place, all 55 Uefa members would unanimously have to agree.

"I can see the pragmatic benefits for Czech football from working in close co-operation with Gianni Infantino and his team," Trunda told Sky News.

"Of course we need more details, but my personal point of view is that I can see the positive impact of Fifa’s intentions.

"I was elected a little more than a year ago, and for me personally all the projects I have experienced in cooperation with Fifa have been very positive for the development of European football."