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UEFA member federations agreed on Thursday to boycott all FIFA competitions in protest of Gianni Infantino's plan to sell a share of World Cup revenue to private equity investors.
“UEFA and its national associations will NOT participate in FIFA competitions,” the European football governing body said after an urgent online meeting of its 55 members.
“Selling some things is simply unacceptable,” UEFA stated in a release. “The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It will always be that way. And as long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.”
The strategic meeting was called to counter FIFA President Infantino's offer of $20 million to each of its 211 global members, which must be accepted by mid-September.
Infantino's secret proposal was revealed on Tuesday: spinning off its commercial operations in a $20 billion deal, with 20% in the hands of private investors. The lead investor would be a New York investment firm created by Joshua Kushner.
“This is not just a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA's duty as the custodian of world football,” declared UEFA, where Infantino was a long-time employee and served as general secretary—a role similar to a chief executive—when he was first elected to lead FIFA in 2016.
“The moment external investors acquire ownership stakes in FIFA competitions, football changes forever,” UEFA maintained. “Commercial return becomes a permanent obligation. Investor expectations become a daily pressure.”
Infantino defended the private equity offer as an opportunity to “accelerate to the maximum” the funding of football development around the world, where the majority of FIFA's 211 members rely on those funds.
Leaders from around 40 UEFA members spoke at the urgent meeting, expressing anger that FIFA is not utilizing part of its multi-billion dollar reserves to fund additional development programs.
The next FIFA competition will be held in Europe: the Women's U-20 World Cup, hosted by Poland starting September 5.
[Publicidad]