UEFA, the 55-member governing body of European football, is preparing to boycott the World Cup and every other FIFA-organized competition in response to a proposed $20 billion overhaul of global football’s financial structure, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by The Post.
The plan is expected to be formally approved Thursday during emergency talks hosted from Switzerland, beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern time. If confirmed, European nations would withdraw entirely from all competitions organized by FIFA, the Zurich-based governing body.
European football officials, frustrated by FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s aggressive push to commercialize the sport and his close alignment with President Trump, believe they have the votes secured, with insiders describing confidence in winning support from more than 50 countries, a landslide majority. One source suggested the vote could even end in a clean sweep, despite the Czech football association initially signaling openness to the privatization plan.
Should UEFA follow through Thursday, it would plunge FIFA into arguably the most severe crisis in its 122-year history. A boycott would mean the 2030 World Cup proceeds without major footballing powers like England, France, Spain and Germany, nations that have combined to win nearly every World Cup since 2006.
Read more about this topic: FIFA wants to sell World Cup shares and UEFA warns football “is not for sale” (with video)
Losing Europe’s top stars and its lucrative broadcast markets would significantly undercut the tournament’s commercial value, potentially derailing Infantino’s pitch to Wall Street investors before it even gets off the ground.
The proposed boycott would extend to the men’s and women’s World Cups, youth championships, and the expanded Club World Cup, though European teams would continue competing in UEFA-run tournaments such as the Champions League and the European Championship, both of which remain entirely under the confederation’s control.
Infantino has already drawn criticism from some European fans over his defense of dynamic ticket pricing, which left many supporters priced out of stadiums during the tournament. This isn’t the first time his efforts to bring outside capital into the sport have met resistance from Europe.
In 2018, he proposed a $25 billion deal involving a consortium that included Japan’s SoftBank to relaunch the Club World Cup and create a new global Nations League, a plan that was quickly abandoned following fierce pushback from UEFA.
Read more about this topic: Council of Europe urges FIFA to address political pressure in football
The next men’s World Cup, scheduled for 2030, will be hosted primarily by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with the tournament’s opening three matches held in South America, in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, to mark the competition’s centenary. The most recent World Cup took place earlier this year, jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
