Uefa Says World Cup Boycott Threat Stands Despite Fifa's Climbdown

Uefa has said its threat to boycott Fifa competitions, including the World Cup, still stands despite Fifa shelving its plan to sell off commercial rights to its major tournaments to private investors.

In a statement on Thursday, the European governing body said it had attached two conditions to withdrawing the threat, and only one had been satisfied.

"Uefa's associations were very clear about the conditions attached to their non-participation in Fifa competitions," the statement read.

"First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn and secondly, assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again. These conditions have not been met," it said.

Uefa's initial threat, issued last Thursday, is widely credited with being pivotal in the plan being shelved. While Uefa welcomed the withdrawal of the plan last Saturday, it also slammed Fifa president Gianni Infantino and his "shabby, backroom, opaque deal".

Its tone had not changed on Thursday. "Uefa made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino's presidency. That position holds," it said.

Infantino had gained some respite on Wednesday when he held an emergency meeting of senior Fifa directors in Morocco. They backed him, issuing a statement saying he had their "full support" while apologising "over errors made after the proposal was leaked to media".

Uefa dismissed that show of support, which included Fifa secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom, whose leaked email to staff on Tuesday had criticised the plan.

"Yesterday's announcement that some people employed by the Fifa president (and whose careers depend on his favour) agree with him changes nothing," Uefa said.

Fifa floated the plan last Tuesday, saying it could raise up to US$4.2 billion based on a valuation of US$20 billion for a new commercial subsidiary called the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), which it proposed would run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.

It said that if approved, the project could provide each of Fifa's 211 member associations with a one-off payment of US$20 million in early 2027, and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from US$8 million to US$20 million. However, after a global backlash, Infantino was forced into the climbdown days later.