{"id":5870,"date":"2026-07-30T20:41:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T20:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5870"},"modified":"2026-07-30T20:41:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T20:41:02","slug":"european-nations-vow-fifa-world-cup-boycott-over-infantino-private-equity-plan-as-opposition-spreads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5870","title":{"rendered":"European nations vow FIFA World Cup boycott over Infantino private equity plan as opposition spreads"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By GRAHAM DUNBAR<\/p>\n

GENEVA (AP) \u2014 European nations agreed Thursday to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions to protest Gianni Infantino\u2019s plan to sell stakes in soccer\u2019s biggest tournament to private equity investors. The North American soccer body rejected his plan later the same day.<\/p>\n

Read more Silicon Valley donors poured $194 million into California politics. Now comes the wealth tax fight<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cUEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions,\u201d the European soccer body said after an urgent online meeting of its 55 member nations.<\/p>\n

The next scheduled FIFA tournament is within weeks in Europe \u2014 the Women\u2019s Under-20 World Cup hosted by Poland from Sept. 5 \u2014 and the four British federations comprise FIFA\u2019s only bidder to host the 2035 Women\u2019s World Cup. That decision is due Nov. 23.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome things are simply too important to sell,\u201d UEFA said in a statement. \u201cThe FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n

The strategy meeting was called to counter FIFA President Infantino\u2019s offer of $20 million to each of FIFA\u2019s 211 global members that has to be accepted by mid-September.<\/p>\n

Later Thursday, the 41-member Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) met and announced it rejected Infantino\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n

In a statement, CONCACAF said members \u201cexpressed deep concerns about the lack of due process surrounding the proposal, the artificially short deadline imposed, and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governance bodies.\u201d It also questioned the need for outside investment \u201cfollowing the most profitable FIFA World Cup in history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Infantino\u2019s secret project was revealed Tuesday to spin off its commercial operations in a new $20 billion subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) 20% owned by private investors. The core investor would be a New York investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner.<\/p>\n

Infantino wrote Tuesday to the 211 members \u2014 already the effective owners of FIFA as a non-profit association under Swiss law \u2014 that if they approve FFE their promised $10 million basic funding for the next four years will double to $20 million. He projected their FIFA funding through 2038 would be $86 million each, instead of about $36 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA\u2019s duty as the custodian of world football,\u201d said UEFA, where Infantino was a long-time staffer and its CEO-like general secretary when he was first elected to lead FIFA in 2016.<\/p>\n

Infantino\u2019s presidency at risk?<\/h4>\n

Infantino\u2019s high-stakes financial gambit now could threaten his previously secure 11-year presidency of FIFA as anger and frustration with him rises among soccer stakeholders including three of the six continental bodies.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

FIFA has set a Nov. 18 deadline for potential candidates to declare in a presidential vote of the 211 members scheduled next March in Rabat, Morocco.<\/p>\n

Infantino had seemed \u2014 11 days ago after the World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey \u2014 to have a clear path to being re-elected unopposed for a fourth and final term in office through 2031, despite a furor over letting United States forward Folarin Balogun play against Belgium despite a red card in his previous game.<\/p>\n

Soccer officials have said privately Infantino has eyed a lucrative commissioner-like role at the FFE spinoff beyond 2031.<\/p>\n

\u201cGame over, Gianni #InfantinOUT,\u201d the Football Supporters Europe group, which advises UEFA on fan issues such as ticket prices, posted after the boycott threat.<\/p>\n

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Soccer\u2019s concern at investor pressure<\/h4>\n

UEFA detailed Thursday why soccer officials fear external investors owning a stake of the global game\u2019s biggest events, including World Cups and Club World Cups for men and women.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe moment external investors acquire ownership interests in FIFA competitions, football changes forever,\u201d UEFA said. \u201cCommercial return becomes a permanent obligation. Investor expectations become a daily pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Infantino has presented the private equity offer as a chance to \u201cturbocharge\u201d funding development of soccer across the world, where a majority of the 211 FIFA members rely on its funding.<\/p>\n

Officials from about 40 UEFA member spoke at the urgent meeting, with anger expressed that FIFA is not using some of its multi-billion reserves to fund extra development programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result of today\u2019s discussion, no UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive,\u201d the European soccer body said, \u201cunless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asia adds rare criticism of Infantino<\/h4>\n

On a seismic day in soccer politics, a traditional bedrock of support in Asia for FIFA and Infantino had earlier Thursday been shaken.<\/p>\n

\u201cFIFA\u2019s unilateral actions appear to undermine the very foundations of continental football,\u201d the Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa said in a letter to its 46 members of FIFA, warning of risks to their own competitions.<\/p>\n

Sheikh Salman, an ally to Infantino since losing the FIFA presidential election to him in 2016, wrote \u201csuch an initiative will not succeed without the support of all the confederations, which is not the case now.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a video message published Wednesday by FIFA, Infantino insisted spinning off its money-making operations was \u201can offer, not an obligation.\u201d<\/p>\n

A FIFA presentation for its members, co-written with its banking advisors from J.P. Morgan and seen by the AP, set a goal for FFE as \u201ccommercial rigor and expertise to better capitalize on broadcast rights, sponsorships and a growing tournament portfolio.\u201d<\/p>\n

FIFA squeeze on continental games<\/h4>\n

That growing portfolio likely would include adding more teams to FIFA competitions like the World Cup and Club World Cup for men and women, and potentially staging them more often than every four years, including in the U.S.<\/p>\n

FIFA adding teams, games and competitions would squeeze the value, status and space in the congested global fixture calendar for those that fund and are organized by the six continental soccer bodies like UEFA and the AFC. Those include World Cup qualifying games, continental tournaments and Champions Leagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important that the AFC family has a complete understanding,\u201d Sheikh Salman wrote, \u201cof how such an initiative may affect key areas of global and Asian football, including the sustainability of confederation and (domestic) competitions, as well as the organization and commercial landscape surrounding the AFC\u2019s activities.\u201d<\/p>\n

UEFA\u2019s previous boycott threat<\/h4>\n

A threatened World Cup boycott from Europe helped derail Infantino\u2019s plan in 2021 to play World Cups every two years instead of four.<\/p>\n

Read more College football commissioner grades: How Power Four leaders fared at media days<\/a><\/p>\n

___ <\/p>\n

AP soccer: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer and AP World Cup coverage<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Infantino\u2019s secret project was revealed Tuesday to spin off its commercial operations in a new $20 billion subsidiary 20% owned by private investors. 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