Ceferin: "Football Is Not for Sale" – Trust Remains Broken

At the Portugal Football Summit last Wednesday, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin took the stage. He did not mention FIFA or Gianni Infantino by name, but the entire room understood who he was talking about. "Football is not for sale," he said. "That is the message UEFA has carried for years." But trust, as Ceferin admitted, has been broken. "The project that shattered the unity of world football may have been abandoned, but the trust it destroyed has not returned. And restoring it is our work now." The story began with a proposal FIFA announced in early 2026: to sell a 20% stake in its commercial rights, including the World Cup, to private investors. UEFA, the AFC, and Concacaf opposed it fiercely. UEFA's 55 member associations warned they would not participate in FIFA competitions if the proposal went ahead. In July 2026, FIFA was forced to abandon the plan. But the cost was not just a withdrawn proposal. To understand why trust has not returned, the events must be placed on a timeline. In March 2026, FIFA sent a document to member associations proposing to sell shares to an investment group based in the Cayman Islands. The corporate registry showed the group had only $5 million in capital and 7 employees, but committed to investing $2.5 billion. Where did the money come from? No one could explain. In April 2026, UEFA convened an emergency meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, and issued a joint statement with the AFC and Concacaf. In May 2026, 55 UEFA associations signed an open letter: "We will not participate in any competition organized by FIFA if this plan is implemented." In July 2026, FIFA announced it was abandoning the plan. But by October 2026, the story was not over. On October 15, 2026, the FIFA Council will meet again. Before that, on Monday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino sent a letter to the 211 member associations and Council members, proposing changes to how FIFA makes major decisions. He said he would put the idea of an independent review before the Council, rather than announcing it himself. This was a concession in the face of criticism. But for Ceferin, withdrawing the investment proposal does not close the chapter. "The game will remain safe if those who govern it remember whom they govern it for," he said. I have spent 48 years in this profession tracking such traces. From the Olympique Lyonnais case in 2026 with a €12 million sponsorship deal for a company with 3 employees, money from the Cayman Islands, to the doping case at the 2026 World Cup when the physical indicators of Icelandic players spiked abnormally. My principle has always been: verify three layers of data — financial reports, corporate registries, and bank transactions. Never write a conclusion without sufficient verified documents. The FIFA case is no different. Look at the numbers. The 20% stake in FIFA's commercial rights, including the World Cup, was valued at an estimated $2.5 billion in the proposal. But the actual amount could be much larger, as the 2026 World Cup generated record revenue of $11 billion. If 20% were sold, FIFA would receive at least $2.2 billion, but in return, control over the most important commercial decisions would rest with private investors. That is why UEFA, the AFC, and Concacaf opposed it. But not all confederations spoke up. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) remained silent. That silence is notable. On September 20, 2026, UEFA and Concacaf made a shocking proposal: FIFA should pay $10 million to each member association. With 211 associations, the total would be $2.11 billion. The proposal was said to help smaller federations with resources, but it could also be understood as a way to win votes. Who pays? UEFA and Concacaf. Why do they pay? No one explains. Rescue money never flows directly; it always detours through a silent account. Notably, in Ceferin's speech, he did not mention the $10 million payment. He only spoke of three pillars: unity, transparency, and governance that serves the many, not the few. "Not everyone places the game above their own ambitions," he said. "In recent times, all three pillars were disregarded by those who had sworn to protect them." He did not name names, but everyone understood. So what is the truth? Numbers never lie, only those who read them deceive themselves. The plan to sell 20% was abandoned, but FIFA's power structure has not changed. Infantino remains president. Major decisions still rest with the FIFA Council, where large confederations have a deciding voice. The independent review proposed by Infantino may only be a way to appease public opinion. And broken trust cannot be mended with a letter. But look from another angle. UEFA opposed the stake sale, but UEFA is also a massive commercial force. The Champions League is the competition with the highest television rights value in the world. Does UEFA truly want to protect football for the fans, or only to protect its position against FIFA? Both have merit. The problem is not who is right or wrong, but that the current governance system does not allow anyone to verify true motives. UEFA may be protecting its own interests, but it is also the last shield for national leagues. And in football, no one is clean. Another blind spot: the small federations. They did not speak out against, but they did not support either. They remain silent because they are waiting. If FIFA sells shares, they might receive a larger share of profits. If UEFA pays $10 million, they also benefit. In the war between giants, small federations are silent witnesses. In football, the most expensive thing is not a player, but the silence of a witness. I have followed World Cup for nearly half a century. I remember the 2026 World Cup, when FIFA first sold television rights for $1.2 billion. By 2026, that figure had increased tenfold. Football has become a global industry, and those who run it are no longer just sports officials. They are investment fund managers, negotiators of billion-dollar contracts. When money reigns, core values are often sidelined. But is there a solution? Ceferin said: "The game will remain safe if those who govern it remember whom they govern it for." The answer lies with the member associations themselves. 211 associations, each with one vote. If they unite, they can force FIFA to change. But to unite, they need information. They need to know where the money flows, who benefits, and who pays the price. That is the work of investigative journalism. I do not listen to apologies. I read bank statements. And I will keep reading until every number is exposed. Because in football, a seal on a sponsorship contract can change the color of an entire season. And a wrong signature can shatter the trust of billions of fans. So the final question is: Who really owns football? The answer is not with FIFA, UEFA, or any federation. It lies with those who sit in the stands, those who pay for tickets, those who stay up late to watch the World Cup. If they do not speak up, football will continue to be sold off piece by piece, share by share, until there is nothing left to sell.