UEFA makes ‘boycott’ decision amid FIFA’s private investment plans

The FIFA World Cup could look very different in 2030 for the next iteration. FIFA recently announced a plan to sell $10 billion in World Cup stakes, bringing in private investment.

With the plans for FIFA to sell stakes in the next World Cup, UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, has made its response, according to James Horncastle, Megan Ferina, and Adam Crofton of The Athletic.

UEFA has “unanimously and unequivocally reject FIFA’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors,” a statement from UEFA read. “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 next World Cup on the calendar is the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, scheduled in Brazil. Qualifying for the tournament is set to begin in October, and those events are put on by continental confederations, such as UEFA.

UEFA is one of FIFA’s six continental confederations nd runs national and club competitions, including the Champions League, and qualification for both the Women’s and Men’s World Cup. Overall, there are 55 members in UEFA, all of which will not be joining the next World Cup. That includes Spain, the defending Men’s champion and the top-ranked Women’s team in the world. It also includes Germany, France, and the Netherlands, all top ten teams in both the Men’s and Women’s rankings.

Concacaf, which represents 41 member nations in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, is set to meet on Thursday to discuss the proposals from FIFA.

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