On July 30, UEFA member associations reached a unified decision to boycott all FIFA competitions, pushing back hard against FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s controversial plan to sell a slice of World Cup ownership to private equity investors.
Following an urgent online summit with all 55 member federations, European football’s governing body issued a blunt statement: “UEFA and its member associations will not participate in FIFA events.”
“There are certain things that are simply not for sale. The World Cup belongs to football, and it always will. As long as Europe has a voice, it will never be sold,” the UEFA declaration emphasized. “As long as these proposals remain on the table, no UEFA national team will take part in any FIFA competition unless the proposal is completely withdrawn, with binding guarantees that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership.”
A football industry insider told Reuters that the vote among UEFA members on boycotting FIFA events was a unanimous 55-0.
FIFA President Infantino and UEFA President Ceferin in a file photo
According to the Associated Press, this latest hardline stance from UEFA is a direct response to Infantino’s funding pitch to FIFA’s 211 global member associations — a proposal promising $20 million to each federation, but only if they sign on by mid-September.
A proposal that surfaced on July 28 reveals Infantino’s plan to spin off FIFA’s commercial operations into a new subsidiary valued at $20 billion, selling a 20% stake to private investors. The anchor investor would be a New York investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner — the brother of Jared Kushner, who happens to be former President Trump’s son-in-law.
Reuters characterized UEFA’s statement as “ruthless,” presenting a “united front” against Infantino. The outlet noted that Infantino’s proposal caught football governing bodies worldwide off guard and triggered an uproar just weeks after the conclusion of the World Cup in North America.
UEFA’s hardline position dramatically escalates the stakes, with direct implications for the 2027 Women’s World Cup slated for Brazil. Meanwhile, the 2030 men’s World Cup is set to be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
Notably, six of the top ten teams in both the men’s and women’s FIFA world rankings come from Europe.
On the same day, CONCACAF and its 41 member associations also rejected FIFA’s plan during their own meeting, while the Asian Football Confederation fired off a strongly worded letter to its 47 members, warning that without support from all six continental confederations, the proposal would never succeed.
The African Football Confederation is scheduled to evaluate the proposal next week, while the Oceania Football Confederation — the smallest regional body with just 11 full members — says it will take up the matter at its meeting next month. CONMEBOL has yet to make a public statement and didn’t immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
