The Congolese Football Federation (FECOFA) has thrown its support behind FIFA president Gianni Infantino following the withdrawal of the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, describing the decision as a demonstration of leadership and consultation.
In an official statement released on 2 August 2026, FECOFA president Véron Mosengo Omba welcomed FIFA’s decision to abandon the proposal after it failed to gain broad support across world football.
The move comes after FIFA confirmed it would no longer pursue the FFE initiative, a project that had generated opposition from several continental confederations, including UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
For FECOFA, however, the withdrawal should not overshadow what it believes has been a positive period under Infantino’s leadership.
“Gianni Infantino has shown great wisdom.”
That was the message from Mosengo Omba, who said the FIFA president had chosen dialogue after listening to the views of supporters and critics of the project before deciding to withdraw it.
The Congolese football chief said the decision reflected FIFA’s willingness to consult stakeholders rather than press ahead with an initiative that had become increasingly divisive.
According to FECOFA, the federation’s position is clear: it supports the direction now taken by FIFA after the proposal’s withdrawal.
The statement also argued that the abandoned project had been developed with positive intentions despite ultimately failing to achieve the necessary consensus.
FECOFA stressed that the controversy surrounding the FFE proposal should not diminish what it considers to be FIFA’s broader contribution to football development, particularly in Africa and among emerging football nations.
The Congolese federation highlighted what it described as continued support from FIFA in areas including infrastructure development, competition management and wider investment aimed at strengthening national football associations.
It added that Congolese football has itself benefited from these programmes and viewed them as evidence of FIFA’s long-term commitment to supporting member associations.
Beyond commenting on the withdrawal of the FFE project, FECOFA’s statement also served as an institutional endorsement of FIFA’s current leadership.
The federation described its position not as an isolated reaction but as an official expression of support for FIFA’s governance following the decision to abandon the proposal.
Mosengo Omba concluded the statement by reaffirming FECOFA’s backing for Infantino’s leadership and expressing confidence in the continuation of his work beyond 2027.
He also pledged Congolese football’s support for the FIFA president as he continues the mandate entrusted to him during successive FIFA congresses held in 2018, Paris in 2019 and Kigali in 2023.
FIFA announced the end of the FIFA Forward Enterprise project after acknowledging that the proposal had become too divisive.
According to Infantino, the initiative had originally been designed to strengthen FIFA’s member associations and expand support for football around the world, particularly in countries where additional investment was most needed.
One of the central ideas behind the project was the creation of a company that would manage the commercial rights of the FIFA World Cup before selling interests to private investors.
However, FIFA concluded that the growing divisions surrounding the proposal outweighed its intended benefits.
“It became clear that the project created divisions of such a nature that, regardless of the level of support, they are no longer in line with the objective established in the first place.”
