// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
FA 'deeply concerned' by Fifa plan as Uefa to meet
FA chairwoman Debbie Hewitt (right) and chief executive Mark Bullingham (second right) with FIFA president Gianni Infantino (centre) at the World Cup semi-final between England and Argentina earlier this month
The Football Association says it is "deeply concerned" about Fifa's plan to sell stakes in its major competitions, with Uefa's 55 members nations set to hold an emergency meeting later this week amid growing anger at the proposals.
Football's world governing body has said it wants to create a commercial subsidiary to run its main events, including the World Cup, and external investors will be able to buy stakes in it.
This has prompted fears that too much influence in those competitions will be handed to private investors, which could lead to massive expansion of the men's and women's World Cup and Club World Cup.
It is now becoming apparent senior figures within the game – including at least two of the eight Fifa vice-presidents – were not consulted about the plans, released on Tuesday after reports initially appeared in the Financial Times and The Times.
An FA spokeswoman said: "We were completely unaware of this proposal and have no substantive details, including what the proposition actually is and what conditions are attached.
"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."
European football's governing body took the remarkable step of issuing a response to Fifa's plans before they had been published on Tuesday, responding to reports in the Financial Times and the Times as it condemned the plans, saying they had "crossed a line".
The meeting will be held virtually and offer the opportunity to work out a plan of action.