Josh NobleJul 31, 2026 – 6.35amLondon | European nations agreed on Thursday (Friday AEST) to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions to protest Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in soccer’s biggest tournament to private equity investors.Their counterparts in North America, Central America and the Caribbean also publicly rejected the proposals, as FIFA’s plan to spin out a new $US20 billion ($28 billion) commercial entity and sell a stake to investors appeared at risk of unravelling.Financial TimesSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles