It is official: UEFA will not participate in FIFA World Cup, Women's World Cup, and other competitions if FIFA President Gianni Infantino goes along with his plan to privatise part of World Cup. The decision has been taken on Thursday after an emergency meeting following FIFA's plan to sell of minority stakes through a newly founded subsidiary, called FIFA Forward Enterprise (a "loophole" because FIFA is officially a non-profit organisation).
"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 said in a statement.
All the 55 UEFA members agreed on the ultimatum, which of course make up for the majority of countries that have won World Cup since the first edition in 1930: Spain, France, Germany, Italy, England. Only Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay are not from UEFA. A World Cup without European countries is unimaginable.
"An abdication of FIFA's duty as the custodian of world football"
Now we just have to wait to see how FIFA will respond: they need 50% of the votes from all 211 FIFA members to approve their plans, and Infantino had promised that this external money from private investors would increase investments for development projects, grassroots football and national teams to all countries... promising more money to those who would vote in favour of it.
But UEFA is vehemently against the idea of selling off part of World Cup, saying it is not for sale and that it would have irreversible consequences. "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."
UEFA added that when FIFA announced these plans without any consultation or input from other associations, they "abdicated of their duties as the custodians of world football", and directly quoting Gianni Infantino, they said "this not a "democratic decision", but governance by intimidation - an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game".
