UEFA has threatened to boycott all FIFA competitions after FIFA president Gianni Infantino proposed selling a stake in the World Cup and other tournaments to private equity investors.The European football body announced the decision on Thursday after an emergency online meeting with its 55 member associations.“UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions,” UEFA said after the meeting.The next FIFA event on the calendar is the Women’s Under-20 World Cup, which will be held in Poland from September 5.Explaining its stand, UEFA said the World Cup should remain under football’s control.“Some things are simply too important to sell,” UEFA said in a statement. “The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.”The emergency meeting came after Infantino offered FIFA’s 211 member associations an additional $20 million if they approve his proposal by mid-September.On Tuesday, Infantino revealed plans to create a new commercial company, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), valued at $20 billion. Under the proposal, private investors would own a 20% stake in the company. The main investor would be a New York investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.In a letter to FIFA’s 211 member associations, Infantino said approving FFE would increase the basic funding each member receives over the next four years from $10 million to $20 million. He also projected that each member would receive $86 million in FIFA funding through 2038 instead of about $36 million.UEFA, where Infantino worked for many years and served as general secretary before becoming FIFA president in 2016, criticised the proposal.“This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA’s duty as the custodian of world football,” UEFA said.UEFA warns against private ownershipUEFA also explained why it believes bringing outside investors into FIFA competitions could change football permanently.“The moment external investors acquire ownership interests in FIFA competitions, football changes forever,” UEFA said. “Commercial return becomes a permanent obligation. Investor expectations become a daily pressure.”Infantino has defended the proposal, saying private investment would “turbocharge” football development around the world. Many of FIFA’s 211 member associations depend heavily on FIFA funding.According to UEFA, officials from around 40 member associations spoke during Thursday’s meeting. Several questioned why FIFA was not using its own multi-billion-dollar reserves to increase development funding instead of bringing in outside investors.“As a result of today’s discussion, no UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive,” the European football body said, “unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership.”Questions over Infantino’s futureThe proposal has also raised questions about Infantino’s future as FIFA president.FIFA has set November 18 as the deadline for candidates to enter the presidential election, which will take place next March in Rabat, Morocco.Until recently, Infantino appeared set to be re-elected unopposed for a fourth and final term until 2031.Infantino is interested in taking a commissioner-like role at FIFA Forward Enterprise after his presidency ends in 2031, football officials were quoted as saying by news agency AP.
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