Sports07 August 2026

Uefa says boycott may still go ahead as FA withdraws Infantino support

European teams could still boycott competitions including the World Cup as Uefa says Fifa's defence of its president Gianni Infantino "changes nothing".

The English FA has sent a letter withdrawing its support for Infantino in reaction to the plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors.

European governing body Uefa said in a statement its conditions had not been met, despite Infantino's plan being aborted.

"First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn and secondly," Uefa's statement said. "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."

Uefa has already said it has lost confidence in Infantino, calling the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal a "shabby, back room, opaque deal".

Infantino had offered all associations $40m (£30m) if they backed a proposal for private investment in its tournaments, including the men's and women's World Cups, through the FFE subsidiary.

World governing body Fifa said during Wednesday's meeting "mistakes" regarding FFE were "acknowledged", saying it was "not the intention" for the Fifa Council and members association to "feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently".

Uefa's statement in response added: "Uefa made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino's presidency. That position holds.

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

Fifa has been approached for comment.

-BBC
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