The European football’s governing body UEFA said on Thursday that it would continue its boycott of FIFA’s men’s and women’s World Cups despite FIFA withdrawing its plan to open major competitions to private investment.
UEFA said its conditions for ending the boycott had not been fully met, despite FIFA stepping back from the proposal.
The European body’s first warning to boycott FIFA competitions last Thursday was widely credited with playing a key role in forcing FIFA to shelve the plan.
UEFA said its associations had been clear about the conditions linked to their participation in FIFA competitions.
“The proposals to sell off major competitions had to be withdrawn, and assurances had to be given that such attempts to damage the game in this way would never happen again,” UEFA said.
“These conditions have not been met.”
UEFA had welcomed FIFA’s withdrawal of the plan last Saturday but criticised FIFA president Gianni Infantino over what it called a “shabby, backroom, opaque deal”.
The organisation repeated its position on Thursday, saying it had lost confidence in Infantino’s presidency. “UEFA made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency. That position holds,” UEFA said.
Infantino received support on Wednesday after holding an emergency meeting with senior FIFA directors in Morocco. The directors issued a statement expressing their full support for him, while also apologising for errors made after the proposal was leaked to the media.
UEFA rejected the show of support, which included FIFA secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom, whose leaked email to staff had criticised the proposal. “Yesterday’s announcement that some people employed by the FIFA President agree with him changes nothing,” UEFA said.
FIFA introduced the proposal last Tuesday, saying it could raise up to $4.2 billion based on a $20 billion valuation for a new commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). The proposed subsidiary was intended to manage events including the World Cup and Club World Cup.
FIFA said the plan, if approved, could provide each of its 211 member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027 and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20 million. However, after widespread global criticism, Infantino withdrew the plan days later.
