The confrontation between UEFA and FIFA that erupted this week over Gianni Infantino's plan to sell a stake in the World Cup is no longer confined to Europe. ONE reports that other continental confederations are now weighing whether to follow UEFA's lead and shun FIFA's flagship tournament themselves.
UEFA's 55 member federations agreed this week that no European national team will take part in any FIFA competition, including the men's or women's World Cup, unless Infantino's plan is dropped entirely and FIFA gives binding assurances it will never again open its competitions to private ownership.
At the heart of the dispute is a proposal to spin off FIFA's commercial operations into a new entity valued at roughly $20 billion, with around a fifth of it sold to outside investors reportedly including Josh Kushner's Thrive Capital and the bank JPMorgan. In exchange, FIFA has offered each of its 211 member associations a payment of about $20 million, with sign-off required by mid-September.
ONE, citing reporting from Talksport, says UEFA figures view the standoff as effectively a referendum on Infantino himself ahead of FIFA's next presidential election in 2027 — with the suggestion that senior football figures could push for him not to seek another term if the private-investment plan collapses under pressure.
CONCACAF, the 41-member confederation covering North and Central America and the Caribbean, called an emergency meeting this week to decide its own position, voicing concern over what it called a lack of due process and transparency in how the plan was drawn up and shared publicly.
Attention has now turned to CAF and CONMEBOL. CAF's executive committee is due to meet next week to evaluate the proposal, while CONMEBOL, the South American confederation that includes reigning champions Argentina, has yet to state a public position of its own.
Should either of those confederations follow UEFA's example, FIFA would face the prospect of a World Cup without some of the sport's biggest nations. Germany, France, England and world champions Spain are already effectively barred from competing under UEFA's current stance.
Infantino has led FIFA since 2016, when he succeeded Sepp Blatter, and was re-elected in 2023. The row over the private-investment plan is shaping up as the most serious challenge to his leadership since he took charge of the governing body.
How the confederations outside Europe respond in the coming weeks will determine whether this becomes a genuine global revolt against FIFA's ownership plans — or remains, for now, a distinctly European rebellion.
