Politics Home | Government “Strongly Supports” UEFA Threat To Boycott World Cup Over FIFA Sell Off Plan

The government has backed UEFA’s plans to boycott the World Cup over plans to sell FIFA to private investors. (Alamy)

3 min read29 min

“This is a principled decision that we strongly support. Football belongs to the fans, not billionaire investors. Enough is enough. It’s time to take a stand to protect our game,” Nandy said on Thursday afternoon.

Earlier this week, The Financial Times reported that plans to sell FIFA would be led by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and could raise around $20bn from private investors. 

On Wednesday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino wrote to all 211 member associations of FIFA, including the UK Football Association (FA), with the ultimatum of accepting the proposals and receiving $40m each in additional funding by September as a result, or failing to and instead recieving a significantly smaller amount. 

The proposals have sparked outrage across football, prompting comparisons to the 2021 plan by a handful of elite clubs to break away into a European Super League. The plan quickly collapsed after a widespread backlash, with clubs involved in the talks accused of greed and betraying their domestic competitions.

In a statement on Thursday afternoon, following an emergency meeting of members, UEFA, which represents European football, said its member nations would boycott future FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, if plans to sell shares were not dropped. 

“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,” said UEFA in a statement. 

“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.”

UEFA also accused FIFA of “intimidation” and of “an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game”. 

It added: “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.”

Following UEFA’s statement on Thursday afternoon, an FA spokesperson said: “We stand shoulder to shoulder with our European colleagues and fully support the collective view. We oppose FIFA’s plans – the FIFA World Cup belongs to football and always will.”

Prime Minister Andy Burnham swiftly condemned the plans on Tuesday night when the story broke of Infantino’s plans.

“Football does not belong to investors. It belongs to the people who fill the stands and who stand on the touchline week in, week out, rain or shine,” said Burnham. 

“The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone’s to sell. Dress the deal up however you like. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out. Football belongs to the fans. It always has, and it always will.”

Speaking to PoliticsHome on Wednesday, the shadow culture secretary, Nigel Huddleston, said Infantino’s conduct as FIFA president “calls into question his judgement and his ability to do the right job”. He also accused the president of treating FIFA like a “fiefdom”. 

UEFA’s plans to withdraw from the World Cup are now widely expected to force Infantino to ditch his plans by making the World Cup a less attractive prospect to prospective investors, with six of the final eight teams in the 2026 World Cup from European nations, including the tournament’s winner and planned 2030 co-host country, Spain.