UEFA says FIFA boycott remains despite Infantino World Cup selloff U-turn

What the report says

UEFA said its member associations are still committed to boycotting FIFA competitions, despite FIFA president Gianni Infantino dropping a proposal to sell minority stakes in World Cups and other major events. The statement, reported by Al Jazeera on 6 August 2026, says UEFA believes FIFA has not satisfied the conditions it set for returning to global competitions.

According to the report, UEFA’s 55 national associations voted unanimously the previous Thursday to withdraw from FIFA events after Infantino announced the possible selloff. FIFA later abandoned the idea, and its leadership backed that decision at a meeting in Morocco on Wednesday. UEFA said that reversal alone was not enough to restore trust.

The European body said its conditions included not only scrapping the proposal, but also giving assurances that similar attempts to alter the game in that way would not happen again. UEFA also said it has lost confidence in Infantino’s presidency, and that position remains unchanged. The dispute comes amid broader tension between European football officials and FIFA over how the sport is governed and who controls its biggest competitions. In practical terms, the standoff raises questions about future cooperation between UEFA and FIFA and whether European associations will participate in upcoming FIFA events.