UEFA threatens FIFA tournament boycott over World Cup stake sale plan

UEFA has issued a strong rejection of FIFA President Gianni Infantino's plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. The European football governing body declared that if the proposal is implemented, all UEFA member nations will boycott FIFA tournaments.

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We unanimously reject FIFA's proposal to transfer the commercial rights of the World Cup and other tournaments to private investors. The World Cup is not an investment product. It is one of football's greatest sporting heritages and can never be transferred to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.

In a firm statement, UEFA declared, "We unanimously reject FIFA's proposal to transfer the commercial rights of the World Cup and other tournaments to private investors. The World Cup is not an investment product. It is one of football's greatest sporting heritages and can never be transferred to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale."

UEFA emphasized that the World Cup belongs to football and will remain so as long as Europe has a say. The organization warned that "no UEFA national team will participate in any FIFA tournament" unless the proposal is completely withdrawn and binding guarantees are provided that FIFA's governance or tournaments will never again be opened to private ownership.

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Some things are too important to be sold. The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And as long as Europe has a say, it will never be for sale.

The FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, developed in collaboration with J.P. Morgan, aimed to raise up to $4.2 billion by selling minority stakes in a new entity valued at $20 billion. FIFA stated that investors would only be minority shareholders without control, but UEFA views this as a move to commercialize and potentially privatize a core asset of global football.

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no UEFA national team will participate in any FIFA tournament unless these proposals are completely withdrawn and binding guarantees are provided that FIFA's governance or tournaments will never again be opened to private ownership.