UEFA members agree FIFA boycott if World Cup plans pursued

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing reporting by Kevin Hand and The Associated Press, reported that UEFA’s member federations have unanimously backed a boycott of FIFA competitions if FIFA proceeds with a proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors. The decision was taken on Thursday during an urgent online meeting of UEFA’s 55 national associations.

According to the report, UEFA’s position would cover FIFA-run events, including the World Cup, and is intended as a response to FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s plan. Al Jazeera said the proposal includes an offer of $20m to each of FIFA’s 211 member associations, with acceptance required by mid-September. The article said the plan would spin off FIFA’s commercial operations in a $20bn structure, with private investors holding 20 percent.

Al Jazeera reported that the core investor would be a New York venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner. The outlet also noted that the next FIFA competition is scheduled to take place in Europe: the Women’s Under-20 World Cup in Poland, beginning September 5.

The development matters because it signals a major escalation between European football authorities and FIFA over the commercial control of the sport’s most valuable tournament. Based on the details reported, UEFA is using the threat of non-participation to challenge a proposed financing model that would bring outside private capital into World Cup-related commercial operations. The article was still developing and did not report FIFA’s response to UEFA’s vote.