England and other UEFA member nations have threatened to boycott the 2030 World Cup if FIFA president Gianni Infantino goes ahead with plans to sell off shares in the tournament to private investors.
UEFA’s emergency meeting
UEFA’s 55 member nations held a virtual crisis meeting on Thursday to discuss Infantino’s recently announced plans to privatise and sell shares in the World Cup. The move has sparked major controversy, similar to that which followed the proposed European Super League in 2021.
Funding windfall and deadline
Infantino gave FIFA’s 211 member nations until September 19 to ratify the plans, which would provide approving countries with a funding windfall. The Times reported UEFA’s willingness to boycott the tournament, which could cause the plans to collapse as potential investors in the men’s and women’s World Cups would be deterred by the absence of European teams.
The Football Association has not yet issued a statement, but support for the boycott is thought to have been nearly unanimous. FIFA and Infantino have not publicly responded to the threat.
