The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) announced on Thursday that it would boycott future men's and women's World Cups in response to FIFA President Gianni Infantino's plan to allow private investment in its competitions.
In a statement issued after an emergency meeting of its 55 member associations, UEFA "unanimously and unequivocally" rejected FIFA’s proposal to launch a new World Cup spin-off. The plan involves selling stakes of up to 20% to external investors, including Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared is US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
The World Cup "cannot be treated as an investment product," the statement reads.
"National associations around the world are now presented with an ultimatum: accept the irreversible capture of football's greatest competitions or bear the consequences," the statement said.
UEFA added that no national team from its member associations would take part in any FIFA competition "for so long as these proposals remain alive", unless FIFA abandons the plan in its entirety and provides binding assurances that it will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership.
