If Gianni Infantino wants to move forward with his plan to sell a stake in FIFA’s commercial operations to private investors at a $20 billion valuation, he’ll have to do so without some of the most dominant and influential countries in the soccer world.
UEFA announced on Thursday that it plans to boycott all FIFA competitions in response to the proposal. The 55 member nations of European soccer’s governing body unanimously agreed to the move following an emergency meeting. Six of the 10 highest-ranked national teams on FIFA’s rankings on both the men’s and women’s side of the sport are in Europe.
This is not the first time a bold, money motivated attempt to reshape soccer has met fierce opposition from fans and stakeholders seeking to preserve at least some form of the sport’s humbler traditions. Five years ago, a Super League proposed by several of Europe’s biggest clubs fell apart in a matter of days after fan protests, political pressure and objections from others around the sport.
While the details of the two plans are quite different, FIFA’s investment plan seems like it could be heading to a similar fate. CONCACAF, which governs soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, initially condemned the lack of transparency in the development of Infantino’s plan and later released a statement rejecting the proposal on behalf of its 41 member nations. A slew of other federations, leagues and even former FIFA president Sepp Blatter have chimed in publicly seeking answers and casting doubt on the motivations of the proposal.
