UEFA decided after its urgent meeting this Thursday that none of its teams “will participate in any FIFA competition” while the FIFA privatization plan for the World Cup “remains in effect.” “Let there be no doubt: UEFA and its national federations will oppose these plans with absolute determination,” emphasized the organization chaired by Aleksander Ceferin.
This boycott by the European teams, which EL MUNDO already reported yesterday, is presented as a strong protest against the project of Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, to sell a share of World Cup revenues to private equity investors.
“Europe’s stance is clear. We will never grant legitimacy to this model,” UEFA reiterates in its statement, showing its “unanimous and unequivocal” rejection of Infantino’s proposal. It also considers it “irresponsible and indefensible” that everything was conceived “in secret” and “without any meaningful consultation with those entrusted with managing this sport.”
The next FIFA competition on the calendar will be the U-20 Women’s World Cup, starting on September 5 in Poland. In October, the qualification rounds for the Women’s World Cup will begin, with the final phase to be held between June 24 and July 25, 2027, in Brazil, where Spain defends its title.
“This model has no place”
“The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of football’s greatest legacies. It has been forged over generations thanks to players, teams, and fans from all continents. No part of it should ever be ceded to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale,” details UEFA’s statement.
Infantino’s project stipulates splitting the commercial operations of the World Cups in a deal valued at 20 billion dollars. 20% would be in the hands of private investors, led by Thrive Capital, a company owned by Joshua Kushner, brother of a son-in-law of Donald Trump, and the bank JP Morgan.
“This model has no place in world football. The future of football cannot be dictated by the expectations of those whose primary duty is to maximize financial profitability. Nor can the interests of federations, leagues, clubs, players, and fans be subordinated to investor profitability. Football cannot mortgage its future for economic gain,” UEFA argues in its document.
Infantino intends to give the green light to his proposal in a vote to be held in mid-September, in which the 211 FIFA federations will participate and only a simple majority is required. For now, to gather the greatest number of supporters, the Swiss lawyer has offered 20 million dollars to each member country with the promise of democratizing football.
“This is not a ‘democratic decision,’ but governance based on intimidation: an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with managing world football,” stresses the body representing the 55 European federations.
For now, UEFA also has CONCACAF, the Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean, on its side, whose 35 members expressed on Wednesday “deep concern about the lack of procedural guarantees” in this matter.
“It will never be for sale”
Ceferin’s challenge is based on the strength of the Old Continent’s teams, which have been World Cup champions in 13 of its 23 editions (Italy and Germany, four times each; France and Spain, twice; and England, once). In the women’s category, the United States holds hegemony with four titles, followed by Germany with two and Spain, Norway, and Japan with one each.
“There are moments when institutions are judged not by what they are willing to accept, but by what they refuse to give up. This is one of those moments. Some things are simply too important to sell. The World Cup belongs to football. It will always be so. And as long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale,” concludes the text from the highest European football body.
CONCACAF also rejects Infantino’s proposal
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Football (CONCACAF), which met extraordinarily this Thursday, has decided to unanimously reject the FIFA proposal and its president Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell the Football World Cup to private investors through the ‘FIFA Forward Enterprise’ program.
“CONCACAF and its 41 member associations have rejected the proposal. CONCACAF reaffirms that the future of football – and its main asset – must remain in the hands of the football family,” reads the statement published by the organization.
“During the meeting, members expressed deep concerns about the lack of due process around the proposal, the artificially imposed deadline, and the absence of any review or approval by FIFA governing bodies. Additionally, the need for private capital to finance new and existing FIFA programs, after the most profitable World Cup in history, was questioned,” the statement continues.
CONCACAF ends by demanding “more transparency and proper governance,” as well as determining how FIFA reserves could be used to increase investment in football development in the region, and reminds the FIFA president that any other matters must follow the correct governance channels according to the organization’s statutes.
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