Gianni Infantino attended 45 matches during the World Cup, often seen with a smug look as record-breaking commercial income approached and stadiums filled. He had a plan to sell the rights to the world's greatest sporting event to private investors, framing it as a way to generate extra cash for FIFA's 211 member nations.
UEFA's ultimatum
Fifty-five of those member nations—UEFA's membership—have told Infantino to abandon the scheme or face a boycott. A UEFA statement declared: "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."
Harsh criticism of Infantino
The statement goes beyond a boycott announcement, attacking Infantino's integrity and morality. It describes the proposal as "irresponsible and defensible" and "conceived in secret," referring directly to Infantino. It cites a "profound failure of leadership" and "an abdication of FIFA's duty as the custodian of world football." UEFA also accused Infantino of "governance by intimidation."
UEFA, whose teams dominate the World Cup—providing six of eight quarter-finalists at the 2026 tournament—called the plan "ill-judged" and asserted that the World Cup belongs to football and will never be for sale.
Infantino's future in doubt
The statement concludes: "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." UEFA had been critical of Infantino since his expanded Club World Cup proposal, and this move leaves his position as FIFA president seemingly untenable.
