UEFA is set to drop its boycott of FIFA competitions after receiving guarantees that FIFA will not repeat Gianni Infantino's plan to sell stakes in the World Cup.
Boycott threat lifted after assurances
UEFA and its 55 member associations are due to meet on Thursday ahead of the Champions League draw in Monaco where further discussions are likely to take place. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has been outspoken on FIFA's ill-fated plan, and the English FA joined the rest to promise a boycott of future competitions which could even threaten participation in future World Cups.
That could have affected the under-20 Women's World Cup, which is first on the horizon next month, but that threat now appears to have passed. UEFA sent a letter to FIFA with support from the 55 member associations threatening legal action after Infantino's sell-off plan and made it clear they would boycott competitions.
Conditions met, but Infantino still targeted
They made two conditions for the boycott threat to be lifted: for FIFA to withdraw the sell-off proposal, and for 'assurances' that it would never happen again. UEFA clearly feel they have got those guarantees, and the action is on hold, but that has not changed the position that the European nations still want to remove Infantino as president.
Ceferin reaffirmed UEFA's stance regarding Infantino on a podcast released earlier this week, while he also ruled out the possibility of succeeding him in the role. "I'm not interested because of two reasons," the UEFA president declared on The Rest is Politics. "One reason is that I love UEFA and I love working here, and I think that at a certain point ... it's time to also enjoy life a bit. And the second point is, my credibility is much, much higher if I'm not interested in the position."
Ceferin added: "Things are changing every day. Every day, there are different discussions. I didn't speak with him. But there are two options. One option is that he realises that he doesn't have the support, and that's not only a political support of the ones who vote, but the political support of football community, the political support of fans, the political support of the players, former players, coaches. And the second option that he goes to the elections in March, but in that case, I think he will have a candidate against him. I don't know yet who."
