UEFA’s FIFA boycott is still in place, the European confederation said Thursday.
The 55 European federations voted unanimously to suspend their participation in FIFA competitions—including World Cups—at an emergency meeting July 30. One week later, the European governing body remains dissatisfied, despite FIFA president Gianni Infantino calling off his widely panned plans to sell shares of the World Cup.
“UEFA’s associations were very clear about the conditions attached to the non-participation in FIFA competitions,” the governing body said in a statement. “First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn, and secondly, assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again. These conditions have not been met.”
UEFA also reiterated its lack of confidence in Infantino and his future as FIFA president in the statement.
Infantino convened FIFA’s top officials at a crisis meeting Wednesday in Morocco, as he sought to preserve support for his presidency. In an unsigned statement afterward, FIFA’s leadership acknowledged “errors” in how the proposal was handled, apologized to its 211 member associations for excluding them from “the process,” and promised that an internal review “will now be conducted.” The statement added that the “successful delivery of the FIFA World Cup” would not have been possible without Infantino.
