FIFA says ‘nobody is selling football’ after UEFA threatens to boycott World Cup

UEFA’s member associations said they would not participate in any FIFA tournament until a plan to sell stakes in a World Cup company was withdrawn.

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

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

“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.

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

European football's governing body UEFA said Thursday it would boycott the World Cup should FIFA press ahead with its private investor plan

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

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

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

Full list of Uefa nations that could boycott 2030 World Cup in stand against Fifa  lbc.co.uk