UEFA maintains World Cup boycott threat despite FIFA apology

UEFA is standing firm on its threat to boycott the World Cup, asserting that FIFA's apology over a controversial private investor plan does not satisfy its demands. The European football governing body insists that FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, must provide concrete assurances that such proposals will not resurface.

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UEFA’s associations were very clear about the conditions attached to the non-participation in FIFA competitions.

Infantino has faced significant pressure since the plan to sell stakes in a company managing the World Cup to private investors emerged on July 28. UEFA, along with two other continental confederations, rejected the plan, with UEFA stating its 55 member nations would boycott FIFA competitions if it proceeded.

FIFA's management board backed Infantino and issued an apology regarding the process used to develop the plan. However, UEFA dismissed this, stating in a release that "changes nothing." The association reiterated its conditions: the withdrawal of proposals involving the sale of major competitions and guarantees against future attempts to "disfigure the game."

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First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn and secondly, assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again.

UEFA also explicitly stated it has "lost confidence" in Infantino's presidency, a position it maintains. The organization views the backing Infantino received from some FIFA employees as irrelevant to its core concerns about private sector influence over sporting events. UEFA fears such influence could lead to demands for larger and more frequent competitions.

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These conditions have not been met.

The proposed plan involved creating a company, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), to manage commercial and operational aspects of FIFA competitions, including the men's and women's World Cups. A key point of contention was the intention to sell a 20 percent stake in FFE to private investors, with Thrive Eternal, founded by Joshua Kushner, reportedly earmarked to lead the investor group. UEFA is also reportedly considering a study to assess if FIFA's estimated US$20 billion valuation of FFE was below market rate.

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In addition, UEFA made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency. That position holds.