UEFA’s 55 member associations will hold an emergency meeting later this week to discuss FIFA’s controversial proposal to sell stakes in its major competitions to external investors.

The virtual meeting comes after FIFA unveiled plans to establish a new commercial subsidiary to manage its flagship tournaments, including the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup. The world governing body says outside investors would be allowed to purchase stakes in the new entity as part of efforts to generate more revenue for global football.

FIFA said the proposal would enable it to increase global development funding to $10 billion while offering each of its 211 member associations access to up to $20 million in one-off capital.

As reported by BBC Sport on Wednesday, the plans have sparked strong opposition from UEFA, which issued a rare public statement criticizing the proposal before FIFA officially released it. European football’s governing