England and other UEFA member nations are ready to boycott the next World Cup if FIFA presses ahead with proposals to sell a stake in its showpiece tournament.
European football’s governing body has taken a firm stand against the plans outlined this week by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
FIFA is seeking to establish a new company designed to bring in £3.1billion of private investment for its tournaments, with Joshua Kushner — the brother of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law — heading the group of prospective investors.
Following this summer’s World Cup, Infantino now intends to push FIFA’s member associations into making a decision on the proposal by September 19.
However, after a crisis meeting on Thursday, England’s Football Association and other UEFA members made clear they would boycott FIFA competitions, including next summer’s Women’s World Cup, if the plan is approved.
UEFA’s 55 national associations held virtual talks, and their united stance could effectively derail FIFA’s proposal given Europe’s considerable influence within the global game.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has criticised FIFA’s proposal to give private investors a stake in the World Cup
Gianni Infantino has faced widespread criticism over claims he is putting the World Cup ‘up for sale’
One international football insider told Daily Mail Sport: ‘This is at the nuclear button end of the spectrum, which is impressive’.
Issuing a statement in the wake of the decision, UEFA underscored that the ‘World Cup is not for sale’ and called the secrecy around the plans ‘irresponsible and indefensible’.
‘UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions,’ the statement began. ‘UEFA and its 55 member associations stand as one. We unanimously and unequivocally reject FIFA’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors.
‘The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of football’s greatest sporting legacies. It has been built over generations by players, national teams and supporters across every continent. No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.
‘It is both irresponsible and indefensible that a proposal of such significance for football was conceived in secret and brought to the brink of approval without any meaningful consultation with those entrusted with stewarding the game. This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA’s duty as the custodian of world football.
‘National associations around the world are now presented with an ultimatum: accept the irreversible capture of football’s greatest competitions or bear the consequences. This is not a “democratic decision”, but governance by intimidation – an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game.
‘But our opposition goes far beyond process.
‘The moment external investors acquire ownership interests in FIFA competitions, football changes forever. Commercial return becomes a permanent obligation. Investor expectations become a daily pressure. From that moment onwards, every decision on the international calendar, every decision on competition formats and every decision shaping the future of football is no longer driven by what best serves the game, but by what best serves shareholders.
‘This model has no place in world football. Football’s future cannot be dictated by the expectations of those whose first duty is to maximise financial return. Nor can the interests of national associations, leagues, clubs, players and supporters become subordinate to investor returns. Football cannot mortgage its future for financial gain.
Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham came under pressure to take action
‘Europe’s position is clear. We will never lend this model our legitimacy. No one has the moral authority to sell what they merely hold in trust for the next generation.
‘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.
‘Nobody should be in any doubt: UEFA and its national associations will oppose these plans with absolute determination.
‘There are moments when institutions are judged not by what they are prepared to accept, but by what they refuse to compromise. This is one of those moments.
‘Some things are simply too important to sell. The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.’
On Wednesday, UEFA had accused FIFA of trying to bribe associations into agreeing with the proposals, which could see them receive up to an additional £15m in revenue.
In another blow to the plan, the president of the Asian Federation Sheikh Salman wrote of his ‘great concern and disappointment’ in FIFA’s decision to prepare the plans without consultation.
CONCACAF, which represents 41 countries in North and Central America and the Caribbean, is another federation which has also expressed early skepticism in the wake of the bombshell plans.
