UEFA members agree FIFA boycott if World Cup plans pursued

European football’s governing body, UEFA, has voted to boycott FIFA events – including the World Cup – if the proposed sale of the event to private investors goes ahead.

The unanimous vote by UEFA member federations agreed on Thursday to boycott all FIFA competitions in protest against Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup.

“UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions,” the European football body said after an urgent online meeting of its 55 members.

The strategy meeting was called to counter FIFA President Infantino’s offer of $20m to each of its 211 global members, which has to be accepted by mid-September.

Infantino’s secret proposal was revealed on Tuesday to spin off its commercial operations in a $20bn operation, with 20 percent owned by private investors.

The core investor would be a New York venture capital investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

“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,” UEFA said in a statement.

“The World Cup cannot ⁠⁠be treated as an investment ⁠⁠product. It is one of football’s greatest sporting legacies. It has been built over generations by players, national teams and ‌‌supporters across every continent.

“No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. ‌‌The ‌‌World Cup is not for sale.”

The next FIFA competition is in Europe, the Women’s Under-20 World Cup hosted by Poland from September 5.

⁠Infantino, earlier on Thursday, called ⁠the plan to sell stakes in the World Cup a proposal but “not an obligation”, after the idea ⁠provoked a furious response from football authorities around the globe.

Asian Football Confederation ‌(AFC) President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa branded FIFA’s lack of consultation over its plan as “totally unacceptable”, saying the move undermined the sport’s existing continental structure.

Former FIFA ⁠President Sepp Blatter ⁠slammed the football governing body’s plans, saying the tournament was not a commercial asset that belonged to a few executives.

“Football belongs to no individual and ⁠to no institution. It belongs to the people,” Blatter told the news agency Reuters on Wednesday.

FIFA have been contacted by Al Jazeera for a response to UEFA’s vote.