European soccer governing body UEFA has voted to boycott the World Cup to protest plans by global organization FIFA to sell off stakes in the tournament to private investors.
As long as the deal is still on the table, UEFA said in a statement on Thursday, no European national teams will compete in FIFA competitions, including next year’s women’s World Cup in Brazil in 2027.
Europe is home to some of the world’s most successful national sides. Three of the four semi-finalists of this year’s men’s World Cup were from Europe, including 2026 champion Spain. A World Cup without Europe would be a far more modest, and commercially far less successful event.
The 55 European soccer associations that make up UEFA voted unanimously to reject FIFA’s proposal, which would transfer its commercial operations to a new entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) and sell 20 percent of the company to Thrive Capital, an invest group run by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
“No UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive,” UEFA said. “The World Cup is not for sale.”
