The governing body of European soccer voted to boycott international competitions hosted by FIFA after its president, Gianni Infantino, announced plans to allow private investors to buy stakes in the World Cup.
FIFA said it would open up the tournament to private investment on Wednesday, after Infantino reportedly ran the plans by officials in President Donald Trump’s administration. Joshua Kushner — the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — has been considered a potential key investor in the proposal, and other figures within Trump’s orbit have been involved, sources told The Times of London, which first reported on the plans.
“The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product,” the Union of European Football Associations wrote in a statement. “No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.”
The coalition said its 55 nations “stand as one” and voted “unanimously and unequivocally to reject FIFA’s proposal.”
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“The FIFA World Cup belongs to football and always will,” The Football Association, the governing body of association football in England wrote on X, backing UEFA’s decision.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
UEFA said none of its teams will participate in any future matches unless they have assurances that Infantino will block FIFA competitions from future private ownership. The 2030 World Cup is scheduled to take place across stadiums in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
FIFA hopes to raise up to $4.2 billion in private-sector capital for a new organization that would oversee key business aspects of major soccer tournaments like the World Cup.
Infantino’s proposal would open up a new subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise, in which select third-party companies could invest in competitions. FIFA, which overwhelmingly controls the global soccer network, has approached Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital and is partnering with J.P. Morgan.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee blasted reports of discussions between FIFA and Trump’s administration on Tuesday, when the news broke about Infantino’s plans to sell shares.
“Infantino is trying to bribe every member country in FIFA with a $40 million payoff to sign off on his scheme to turn the World Cup into a get-rich-quick extraction industry for oligarchs and billionaires,” the Judiciary Democrats’ account said on X. “It’s time for everyone who loves soccer to oppose this sinister Trump-Kushner takeover of the world’s most beautiful and democratic game.”
Trump and Infantino have enjoyed a close relationship, with the FIFA president making frequent visits to the White House and Mar-a-Lago. Trump presented the World Cup Trophy on July 19 in New Jersey, a few months after Infantino awarded him the newly created “FIFA Peace Prize” in December.
Infantino set a Sept. 19 deadline for the 211 federations to approve the plans. The controversial FIFA initiative would give each of them access to $40 million in funding, ESPN reported.
Other multinational soccer governing bodies are still reviewing Infantino’s plans. The Confederation of African Football is set to hold a meeting of its executive committee next week to evaluate FIFA’s proposal.
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