Bermuda has joined the 40 other Concacaf member nations in rejecting Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s proposal to sell off commercial World Cup rights to private investors.

In an “emergency” meeting convened on Thursday afternoon, the 41 Concacaf members responded to Infantino’s decision to sell 30 per cent of World Cup rights to outside investors, including Thrive Eternal, which Is run by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of US president Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

While Concacaf members rejected the proposal, they did not go as far as the 55 European members, who agreed to boycott all Fifa competitions in a Uefa meeting earlier on Thursday.

“Concacaf is a confederation united by the love of our game, where football comes first,” read a Concacaf statement.

“Guided by this philosophy over the past ten years we have built, from the ground up, an organisation founded on service, transparent governance, and the long-term stewardship of football.

“History has shown Fifa and the football family what happens when the custodians of the game lose sight of these values.

“With this in mind, Concacaf today convened a meeting of the presidents of its 41 Member Associations, together with its president, council members, and its Fifa Council members, to discuss a proposal developed and presented by the Fifa president to establish ‘FIFA Forward Enterprise’ and sell interests in the Fifa World Cup to private investors.

“During the meeting, the membership expressed deep concerns about the lack of due process surrounding the proposal, the artificially short deadline imposed and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant Fifa governance bodies. In addition, the need for private equity investment to fund new and existing Fifa Forward programmes following the most profitable Fifa World Cup in history was questioned.

“The discussion reinforced the need for greater transparency and proper governance.

“For these reasons, Concacaf and its 41 member associations have rejected the proposal; tasked their FIFA Council Members with engaging Fifa to determine how existing vast Fifa reserves could be used to increase Fifa Forward funding for football development across our region; and tasked their Fifa council members with instructing the Fifa president to ensure that any matter follows the proper governance processes via staff and Fifa council, in accordance with the Fifa statutes.

“Through these actions, Concacaf reaffirms that football's future — and its greatest asset — must remain in the hands of our football family.”

The rejection of the proposal by Concacaf means 96 of the 211 member nations of Fifa have voted against the selling of World Cup rights. Infantino, through Fifa, had sent a letter to all nations represented in its organisation, saying that each member will be able to access $40m in funding to “develop the game” once the deal is finalised.

He had set a deadline of September 19 for football federations to accept his plans if they want to access an initial $20m.

Conmebol, the federation that represents South America and football heavyweights Brazil and Argentina, have yet to show its hand along with Africa. The Asian football federation outlined its unhappiness on Wednesday.