Follow Us on Google
UEFA is considering a boycott of future FIFA World Cup tournaments as opposition intensifies against FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s proposal to open the commercial rights of football’s biggest competition to private investors.
According to reports by ESPN, UEFA is pushing to convene an emergency meeting of its 55 member associations this week to discuss a coordinated response, including the possibility of refusing to participate in future World Cups if FIFA proceeds with its controversial commercial restructuring plan.
The proposal centres on the creation of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a newly established commercial entity that would oversee FIFA’s event and commercial operations, including the men’s and women’s World Cups. FIFA plans to raise about $4.2bn by selling minority, non-controlling stakes in the company, valuing the venture at approximately $20bn.
FIFA said the initiative would unlock new commercial opportunities and generate additional funding for football development worldwide. The governing body disclosed that it is working with financial services giant J.P. Morgan, while investment firm Thrive Eternal, founded by Joshua Kushner, is among prospective investors. FIFA also said it would retain full control over football governance, competition formats, regulations and the international match calendar.
However, the proposal has triggered strong resistance across European football. UEFA described the move as a dangerous attempt to commercialise the governance of the sport, insisting that football’s governing institutions should never treat the game as a financial asset.
In a strongly worded statement, UEFA said football’s governance and heritage were “not assets to trade”, stressing that neither FIFA nor any football authority owns the game. The European governing body warned that any attempt to sell interests in the World Cup would undermine the integrity of global football and called on national associations, leagues, clubs, players, supporters and governments to oppose the proposal.
Sources familiar with the discussions said UEFA is preparing a united response and could revive the threat of a World Cup boycott, similar to the opposition that forced FIFA to abandon its proposed biennial World Cup plan in 2021.
Political opposition has also emerged. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham criticised the proposal, declaring that football belongs to supporters rather than investors. Burnham argued that the World Cup is the greatest competition in world football and should never become a commercial asset for private ownership.
The Football Supporters’ Association also condemned the proposal, describing it as another attempt to reshape football for short-term commercial gain. The supporters’ body pledged to resist any move that it believes threatens the future of the sport and backed UEFA’s stance against FIFA’s investment plans.
FIFA defended the proposal, arguing that member associations stand to benefit significantly through increased development funding. Under the proposed arrangement, each of FIFA’s 211 member associations could receive up to $20m in development funding through future commercial cycles, compared with the current allocation of about $8m, with further increases planned in subsequent years.
The dispute marks the latest chapter in the growing tension between FIFA and UEFA over the future governance and commercial direction of world football.
While FIFA insists the investment model will strengthen football’s global development, UEFA maintains that the World Cup is a shared sporting institution whose ownership and governance should never be opened to private investors.
