UEFA Threatens World Cup Boycott Over FIFA Investor Plan

UEFA has told FIFA that all 55 European countries will walk away from any FIFA tournament if the world body goes ahead with plans to sell part of the World Cup to private investors.

The clash started on Tuesday when FIFA announced it wants to raise $4.2 billion. To do that, FIFA plans to sell up to 21% of a new company called FIFA Forward Enterprises. This company would run FIFA’s biggest events, including the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup. FIFA said it would still keep control, and gave all 211 member countries until September 19 to approve the plan. The idea is to get money to national associations by early 2027.

But the plan did not go down well. On Thursday, UEFA held an emergency online meeting and every single one of its 55 members agreed to reject it. In a strong statement, UEFA said the World Cup belongs to the people who built it.

“The World Cup is not something to buy and sell,” UEFA said. “It is one of football’s proudest traditions. Players, national teams, and fans across the world built it over many years. No part of it should go to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.”

UEFA warned that once investors are involved, decisions about when games are played, how tournaments are set up, and how money is made will be driven by profit, not by what is good for football. Because of that, UEFA said no European team will play in any FIFA competition while the proposal is still alive. The group is also asking FIFA to drop the plan completely and promise never to bring private ownership into football again.

The anger is not only in Europe. On Thursday, Concacaf also met. The body that represents 41 countries in North, Central America and the Caribbean said it rejects the plan too. People at the meeting said trust in FIFA President Gianni Infantino has dropped, because most members first heard about the deal in the news, not from FIFA itself.

Concacaf called the process poor. Asia’s football confederation said it was upset that such a big decision was made public before members could talk about it. Africa’s football body said it is still looking at the proposal.

Critics outside football also spoke up. Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and UK politician Andy Burnham both condemned the plan. Football associations in England, Scotland, Wales and Norway quickly backed UEFA.

FIFA, however, is not backing down. In a video on Wednesday, Infantino called the plan a fair process and said it is needed to grow money for football around the world. On Friday, FIFA said again that the goal is to help all member countries benefit from football’s commercial growth.

The timing makes the standoff more serious. Women’s World Cup qualifiers for the 2027 tournament in Brazil are due to start in October. The men’s World Cup is set for 2030 in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

For now, Europe’s message to FIFA is direct. Some parts of the game are too important to be sold, and for UEFA, the World Cup is one of them.

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