UEFA Keeps World Cup Boycott

UEFA says it has lost confidence in FIFA President Gianni Infantino's leadership.

European football's governing body UEFA said on Thursday it would maintain its boycott of the men's and women's FIFA World Cups despite FIFA withdrawing its proposal to open its competitions to private investment.

UEFA's initial threat, issued last Thursday, is widely credited with playing a pivotal role in FIFA's decision to shelve the plan. While FIFA's withdrawal of the proposal satisfied one of UEFA's demands, the governing body said its second condition had not been met.

"UEFA's associations were very clear about the conditions attached to their non participation in FIFA competitions," the organization said in a statement.

"First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn and secondly, assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again.

"These conditions have not been met."

UEFA had welcomed FIFA's decision to withdraw the proposal on Saturday but also criticized FIFA President Gianni Infantino over what it described as a "shabby, backroom, opaque deal."

In its statement on Thursday, UEFA said its position on Infantino had not changed.

"UEFA made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino's presidency. That position holds," it said.

Infantino received support on Wednesday after convening an emergency meeting of senior FIFA directors in Morocco. The officials issued a statement expressing their "full support" for the FIFA president while apologizing "over errors made after the proposal was leaked to media."

UEFA dismissed the endorsement, noting that it included FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom, whose leaked email to staff on Tuesday had criticized the investment proposal.

"Yesterday's announcement that some people employed by the FIFA President (and whose careers depend on his favour) agree with him changes nothing," UEFA said.

FIFA unveiled the proposal last Tuesday, saying it could raise up to $4.2 billion based on a $20 billion valuation for a new commercial subsidiary, the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). The entity was intended to manage competitions including the FIFA World Cup and Club World Cup.

According to FIFA, the project, if approved, would have provided each of its 211 member associations with a one-time payment of $20 million in early 2027 and increased their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20 million.