Key facts
- UEFA and its 55 member nations will boycott all FIFA competitions.
- The boycott is a protest against FIFA President Gianni Infantino's plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors.
- UEFA stated that the World Cup 'belongs to football' and will 'never be for sale.'
- The proposed deal involves creating a new $20 billion subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), with 20% owned by private investors.
- CONCACAF also rejected Infantino's plan, citing concerns over due process and the deadline.
- The plan offers $20 million to each of FIFA's 211 member nations if they approve the deal.
UEFA member federations have agreed to boycott all FIFA competitions in protest of President Gianni Infantino's plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors. The European soccer body stated, 'Some things are simply too important to sell,' emphasizing that the World Cup belongs to football and will never be for sale.
The strategy meeting was called to counter Infantino's offer of $20 million to each of FIFA's 211 global members, which must be accepted by mid-September. The controversial plan involves spinning off FIFA's commercial operations into a new $20 billion subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), with 20% owned by private investors. The core investor would be a New York investment firm created by Joshua Kushner.
Later on Thursday, the 41-member Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) also met and announced it rejected Infantino's plan. CONCACAF cited deep concerns about the lack of due process, the artificially short deadline, and the absence of review by relevant FIFA governance bodies. They also questioned the need for outside investment following the most profitable FIFA World Cup in history.
Senior FIFA adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned in protest, calling the plan 'a bad deal for football.' Infantino's presidency, which has lasted 11 years, is now potentially threatened as anger rises among soccer stakeholders.