In a dramatic standoff that has sent shockwaves through global football, all 55 national football associations under the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) have passed a unanimous resolution to boycott every FIFA-run competition — including the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup — if FIFA moves forward with its controversial plan to sell minority ownership stakes in top tournaments to private investors.
The unanimous decision was reached during an emergency virtual gathering convened by UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, coming just days after FIFA publicly unveiled plans to launch a new commercial subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), that would open the door for outside private capital to acquire minority holdings in FIFA’s most high-profile competitions. According to reporting from the BBC, which first broke details of the unanimous vote, the boycott will go into effect if the plan, spearheaded by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, secures approval from a majority of FIFA’s 211 global member associations. The first major opportunity to test UEFA’s hardline stance could come as early as October, during the upcoming Women’s World Cup qualifying play-offs.
In a uncompromising official statement released immediately after the emergency meeting, UEFA emphasized that its 55 member associations remain unified in total opposition to the proposal. “We unanimously and unequivocally reject FIFA’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors,” the statement read. “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.”
Major European national governing bodies have already lined up to reinforce UEFA’s position. The Football Association of England reaffirmed its full solidarity with fellow European associations, with a spokesperson noting that “the FIFA World Cup belongs to football and always will.” The Scottish Football Association echoed this support, while raising sharp concerns over the lack of transparent consultation and poor governance practices that have defined the development of FIFA’s proposal.
While UEFA only represents roughly a quarter of FIFA’s 211 total member associations, European football commands unparalleled influence in the global game: European nations have claimed victory in 13 of the 23 men’s World Cup tournaments held to date, and at the most recent 2026 edition, six of the eight quarter-finalists — including eventual champion Spain — were European sides.
Under the terms of FIFA’s plan, FFE would be created to manage all commercial and event operations for FIFA’s flagship competitions, with outside investors invited to purchase minority, non-controlling stakes in the new subsidiary. Multiple sources familiar with the plan, cited by the BBC, indicate that Infantino has offered every one of FIFA’s 211 member associations up to $40 million in direct payments if they vote in favor of the proposal, with an initial $20 million payout available to associations that approve the plan by the September 19 deadline.
The proposal still requires a majority vote from FIFA’s global membership to move forward. If approved, the BBC reports that U.S.-based venture capital firm Thrive Eternal — founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, former U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law — is poised to lead the investor group backing FFE.
UEFA has not only rejected the substance of the proposal but also lashed out at the process FIFA has followed to advance it, accusing the global governing body of drafting the plan in secret without conducting any meaningful consultation with member confederations. In its statement, UEFA labeled the initiative “irresponsible and indefensible,” arguing that FIFA has effectively issued a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum to national associations in exchange for financial incentives.
“This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA’s duty as the custodian of world football,” UEFA said, per the BBC. The European body added that the proposal amounts to “governance by intimidation” and “an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game.”