Following a meeting in Morocco on Wednesday, FIFA apologized for the errors made over a plan proposed by President Gianni Infantino to sell stakes in the World Cup, according to a statement released on Thursday.
In July, FIFA proposed creating a commercial subsidiary and selling minority stakes to private investors to fund a sharp increase in development funding for its 211 member associations.
The proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) would have brought together FIFA's commercial rights -- including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing -- with the operational delivery of its tournaments.
FIFA would seek to raise up to 4.2 billion U.S. dollars by selling minority, non-controlling stakes in the company, based on an initial equity valuation of 20 billion dollars.
On Aug 1, Infantino announced the withdrawal of the proposed FFE project, after strong opposition from UEFA, several other continental confederations and key figures within FIFA.
FIFA officials later met in Morocco on Wednesday, where they addressed the proposal and acknowledged the mistakes that had been made, according to a statement.
The process should have been handled differently, and errors were also committed after the proposal was leaked to the media, said the statement.
In a separate letter to the FIFA Council and FIFA Member Associations, FIFA apologized for these errors and pledged to ensure they do not happen again. A review will now be conducted, with a report to be presented to the FIFA Council at its next scheduled meeting, said the statement.
Keir Radnedge, a sports politics and business author, said that private equity in the World Cup would go counter to the wishes of fans, who have been vocal in saying they do not want the tournament to be overly commercialized.
"One person who didn't expect such a reaction was Infantino himself, who thought he could just throw this idea out to his 211 member associations, that they would all say 'oh, yes, please, we'd like lots of that money.' Infantino's plot, plan, scheme -- call it what you like -- is dead in the water, because people fear the commercialization of the World Cup itself. I mean FIFA is a nonprofit body. And fans all around the world have a great emotional investment in the World Cup and they don't like to see it being played with too much in the commercial sense," Radnedge said during an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).
FIFA apologizes for presidency's plan to sell stakes in World Cup
A number of university students in the U.S. capital have shared their views on China's initiative to invite 100,000 young Americans to visit the country for exchanges and study over the next five years.
The program was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping when addressing a welcome ceremony at the White House during his visit to the United States from Wednesday to Friday.
Many of the students interviewed expressed their hope to visit some well-known places in China like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong.
"My dad's been to China for work, and he really loves it, so I'd love to go sometime. Maybe Shanghai. That's where my dad went, and he really liked it there," said a student.
"I've heard of Guangdong. I've heard of the basketball team," another student said.
Many of the students agreed that allowing more young Americans to experience Chinese culture in person would be beneficial for both countries.
"I think that's really cool to have the opportunity to connect with those cultures. And I really do like that idea. I think it's a great idea to invite us to China. It's great," said a student.
"I feel like the culture. I feel like getting the opportunity to immerse yourself in different cultures is really important," said another student.
"There's definitely value in traveling to other places and learning other cultures. So I think that it can be beneficial," said another one.
Even beyond cultural exchange, the students expressed their beliefs that American youth could learn a lot from Chinese society.
"I think, for me personally, it's the scale, with how many people live in China. I would definitely be interested in seeing how that functions, especially in those larger cities," said a student.
"I think I would like to know what their people are like. What are their thoughts on the world? On what the world should be like?" one student said.
"I think China's amazing. They're so far ahead. We're supposed to be the Western world, but I feel like they're so much more advanced than us in so many ways. I know AI and medicine are big things right now, and I think China has made huge advancements in that. So probably that," said a student.
The students also hope that the program will help strengthen China-U.S. relationship, promote educational exchanges, and broaden the horizons of those who take part.
"It's better for both countries to be connected and to build a better relationship over the coming years. And I think that's important to global peace and prosperity," said a student.
"I think it's really a great thing. I think different cultures, combining different cultures, and education is such a global thing, and having different students come all over the place and take classes here and there," said another student.
"There's a lot more to this world than what's right in front of us. And there's a lot to learn from different ways of seeing things around the world. So I think it could be valuable from that standpoint," a student said.
US students share views on China's plan to invite 100,000 young people for study, exchange
