Anadolu staff
30 July 2026•Update: 30 July 2026
All 55 UEFA member associations have unanimously backed a boycott of FIFA competitions if world football’s governing body proceeds with plans to sell stakes in its tournaments to private investors, according to a statement issued after an emergency meeting on Thursday.
UEFA said its member associations “stand as one” and have “unanimously and unequivocally” rejected FIFA’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the FIFA World Cup and other competitions to private investors.
“As a result of today’s discussion, no UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership,” the statement said.
“The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of football’s greatest sporting legacies ... No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale,” UEFA added.
The European governing body also criticized FIFA’s handling of the proposal, saying it was “conceived in secret and brought to the brink of approval without any meaningful consultation” with football stakeholders.
“This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA's duty as the custodian of world football,” it said.
The emergency meeting followed growing opposition to FIFA President Gianni Infantino's proposal to establish FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a commercial subsidiary that would oversee the World Cup and other commercial operations.
Earlier this week, FIFA said FFE would remain majority-owned and controlled by FIFA, with outside investors holding only a minority stake and having no role in football governance or sporting decisions. The governing body said the proposal would increase development funding for its 211 member associations and would only proceed if approved by a majority of them.
