UEFA members vote to boycott FIFA if Infantino’s World Cup plans pursued | Football News | Al Jazeera
play<br>Live
Sign up<br>Show navigation menu<br>play<br>Live
Click here to searchsearch<br>Sign up
ListenListen (2 mins)<br>Save
Click here to share on social media<br>share-nodesShare<br>facebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylink
googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has proposed the World Cup be sold to private investors but UEFA will boycott if plans go ahead [Benoit Tessier/Reuters]
By Kevin Hand and The Associated Press
Published On 30 Jul 202630 Jul 2026
European football’s governing body, UEFA, has voted to boycott FIFA events – including the World Cup – if the proposed sale of the event to private investors goes ahead.<br>The unanimous vote by UEFA member federations agreed on Thursday to boycott all FIFA competitions in protest against Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup.<br>Recommended Stories<br>list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4What has FIFA charged Argentina with, and what could the punishment be?<br>list 2 of 4Storm apologize after co-owner berates teen girls for support of Cunningham<br>list 3 of 4South Africa’s le Clos breaks Commonwealth Games medal record<br>list 4 of 4Viral finger-clicker suspended as cricket storm remains in global spotlight<br>end of list<br>“UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions,” the European football body said after an urgent online meeting of its 55 members.<br>The strategy meeting was called to counter FIFA President Infantino’s offer of $20m to each of its 211 global members, which has to be accepted by mid-September.<br>Infantino’s secret proposal was revealed on Tuesday to spin off its commercial operations in a $20bn operation, with 20 percent owned by private investors.<br>The core investor would be a New York venture capital investment firm created by Joshua Kushner.<br>“No UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, 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,” UEFA said in a statement.<br>“The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of football’s greatest sporting legacies. It has been built over generations by players, national teams and supporters across every continent.<br>“No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.”<br>Advertisement
The next FIFA competition is in Europe, the Women’s Under-20 World Cup hosted by Poland from September 5.<br>Infantino, earlier on Thursday, called the plan to sell stakes in the World Cup a proposal but “not an obligation”, after the idea provoked a furious response from football authorities around the globe.<br>Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa branded FIFA’s lack of consultation over its plan as “totally unacceptable”, saying the move undermined the sport’s existing continental structure.<br>FIFA have been contacted by Al Jazeera for a response to UEFA’s vote.
aj-logo
aj-logo
aj-logo
Advertisement