Uefa says boycott may still go ahead as FA withdraws Infantino support

What the report says

European football’s governing body Uefa said Fifa’s latest defence of president Gianni Infantino did not alter its position, keeping open the possibility of a boycott of competitions such as the World Cup. The BBC Sport report said Uefa still believed its conditions had not been met after a plan to bring in private investment linked to World Cup commercial rights was abandoned.

The dispute centres on the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal, which had raised concern among several European associations. According to the BBC, Infantino apologised after a Fifa executive meeting in Morocco, while Fifa said mistakes had been acknowledged and the process should have been handled differently. Uefa responded that it had already lost confidence in Infantino and that the meeting changed nothing.

The English FA has now formally withdrawn its support for Infantino, reflecting wider unease in Europe. The BBC said Uefa still wants answers about how the proposal developed, who was involved and whether proper procedures were followed. It also noted that Uefa sees little movement outside Europe in backing a challenge to Infantino, which makes any boycott threat harder to use.

The issue matters because it could affect European participation in upcoming Fifa events, including the women’s U20 World Cup in Poland. More broadly, the row highlights a power struggle over how Fifa is run and how much influence member associations should have over major commercial decisions.