CONCACAF rejects FIFA’s private investment plan as UEFA threatens World Cup boycott

European nations agreed Thursday to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions to protest Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in soccer’s biggest tournament to private equity investors. The North American soccer body rejected his plan later the same day.

North America's soccer body on Thursday rejected FIFA president Gianni Infantino's plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors, joining European nations in opposition.

UEFA’s 55 associations threaten a full FIFA boycott over plans to sell the World Cup.

England's Football Association declared its full support for UEFA, insisting the World Cup should remain in the hands of football.

European football’s governing body UEFA said on Thursday it would boycott the World Cup if FIFA pressed ahead with its private investor plan.“No UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding a

“Some things are simply too important to sell,” UEFA said in a statement. “The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.”

European football's governing body UEFA said on Thursday it would boycott the World Cup if FIFA pressed ahead with its private investor plan. "No UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding

UEFA has threatened to boycott FIFA competitions over Gianni Infantino's $20 billion investor plan, saying the World Cup should never be privately owned.

The KNVB said it opposes FIFA's plans to further commercialize the World Cup, reaffirming its position after a UEFA meeting.

“UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions,” UEFA said after the meeting. The next FIFA event on the calendar is the Women's Under-20 World Cup, which will be held in Poland from September 5.

FIFA has faced backlash from global soccer governing bodies over the proposal to allow private investment.

“Some things are simply too important to sell,” UEFA said in a statement. “The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.”

3 min readUpdated: Jul 30, 2026 10:16 PM IST The FIFA World Cup soccer trophy is displayed during the opening ceremony of the International Broadcast Center, Monday, June 1, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)European football’s governing body UEFA’s member associations on Thursday unanimously voted to boycott t

UEFA says will boycott World Cup if FIFA pushes private investor proposal  euractiv.com

The 55 UEFA members are in favor of the boycott as a tense situation continues to unfold

UEFA vows to boycott all FIFA competitions over private investment plan  USA Today

UEFA and its 55 members reject FIFA’s plan to sell World Cup ownership to private investors, threatening a boycott if the proposal proceeds. The World Cup

UEFA members unanimously voted to boycott ‌the ⁠World ⁠Cup and other FIFA competitions. The protest follows FIFA's plan to ‌sell stakes to investors ‌in a subsidiary ‌that will run the governing body's tournaments.

UEFA Will Boycott FIFA World Cup If Kushner-Backed Investment Plan Moves Forward  Forbes

UEFA member federations agreed on Thursday to boycott all Fifa competitions in protest of Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors. “UEFA and its national associations will not participate in Fifa competitions,” the European football body said after an urgent online meeting of

The governing body's plan welcoming investors to purchase World Cup-related commercial rights has drawn criticism from around the world.

The strategy meeting was called to counter FIFA president Infantino’s offer of US$20 million to each of FIFA's 211 global members that has to be accepted by mid-September.

The European football governing body called for FIFA's plan to create a commercial company to maximize revenues to be 'abandoned in its entirety.'

Gianni Infantino's plan sell off aspects of the game's best assets has its first true adversary, as the European governing body issues a strong warning of future action if the plan remains under consideration.

UEFA member countries agree to boycott FIFA competitions in protest at private equity plan for World Cup.

UEFA says the World Cup "cannot be treated as an investment product" and has threatened to pull its national teams from FIFA competitions unless the proposal is withdrawn.

On Tuesday, FIFA confirmed its plans to sell a significant minority stake in a new entity that it is setting up to run its main events.

UEFA to boycott all FIFA competitions to protest World Cup private equity plan  ESPN

A potential World Cup boycott is being considered following revelations this week

Opposition is growing in the soccer world to a plan by the sport’s governing body, FIFA, to spin off its events, principally the World Cup, as a separate commercial entity and invite investors to take a stake in it. The new company, FIFA Forward Enterprise, has been valued at about $20 billion. FIFA would seek…

Football Association say they were “completely unaware” of controversial proposal to sell stakes in major FIFA competitions

July 29 : UEFA is looking to hold an emergency meeting with its 55 member associations this week to discuss FIFA's proposed sale of equity to outside investors, the BBC and ESPN reported.On Tuesday, FIFA said it plans to create a $20 billion subsidiary to run the World Cup and its other events and will offer stakes of

European football’s governing body insists the World Cup is not an ‘asset to trade’.

FIFA has confirmed its plans to create FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).

UEFA insists the World Cup is not an “asset to trade” after FIFA confirmed plans to set up a private company to run its competitions ...