On Thursday, July 30, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) held an emergency meeting to make a decisive refusal to the plan proposed by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) to sell shares to a private equity group in order to raise $20 billion in external investment. At the same time, UEFA announced a boycott of all FIFA international competitions, including the World Cup.
This decision means that major countries including Germany, France, England, and reigning world champions Spain will not participate in the men’s and women’s World Cups.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this week unveiled the plan to sell shares of FIFA’s Forward Enterprise (FFE) to raise substantial funds in exchange for influence over future World Cups, including broadcast rights and commercial deals related to the tournaments.
The proposal received support from American investor Josh Kushner and JPMorgan Chase Bank.
According to the proposal, if all 211 member associations of FIFA agree to the World Cup equity sale plan, each association would receive over $80 million in funding by 2037, with each member having just 53 days to consider. Infantino set September 19 as the final deadline for associations to accept the plan.
The proposal faced opposition from 55 UEFA member associations on Thursday. Sources told ESPN that over 50 members voiced their anger at Infantino’s proposal during the online meeting, and UEFA reached a consensus to boycott all future FIFA international competitions until the sale plan is abandoned.
The first test of this stance will come in September when Poland is set to host the U-20 Women’s World Cup.
UEFA and its 55 member associations issued a statement saying, “UEFA and its member associations will not participate in any competitions organized by FIFA… (please continue)