UEFA set to drop Fifa boycott threat after assurances on World Cup sale plan
European football's governing body is expected to tell member federations this week that Fifa has met the conditions it set after Gianni Infantino's plan to sell a stake in the World Cup was shelved.
By Eyob Hadgu · 26 August 2026
UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Photo: Florian Pépellin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
UEFA is set to drop its threat to boycott Fifa competitions after receiving assurances that there will be no repeat of Fifa president Gianni Infantino's plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors, BBC Sport has been told.
The dispute began in late July, when Fifa proposed selling a stake in a new entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise, that would have taken over the organisation's commercial and event operations. Fifa said the investor group was expected to be led by Thrive Eternal, a private equity firm founded by Joshua Kushner. UEFA, which represents 55 member associations, called the plan "irresponsible and indefensible" and said it had been put forward without consulting the federations that make up Fifa. UEFA members voted to boycott Fifa tournaments if the plan went ahead, and Fifa withdrew the proposal on 31 July after North America's Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation joined UEFA in rejecting it.
According to Reuters sources cited in wire reports, UEFA officials are expected to tell the organisation's executive committee and member-association presidents, at a meeting in Monaco on Thursday, that the conditions UEFA set for lifting the boycott threat have now been met. Italy's football federation, the FIGC, had already withdrawn its support for Infantino's re-election bid over the affair; in a statement, the FIGC said the move was intended "to clearly and transparently express the FIGC's position — in full agreement with UEFA" on Fifa governance.
It's not a UEFA defeat, rather the reality of avoiding hurting young players' once in a lifetime opportunity.
One source familiar with the discussions framed the climbdown that way, according to wire reports — a reference to the Under-20 Women's World Cup, due to begin 5 September in Poland, which European teams risked missing had the boycott gone ahead.
UEFA's separate position that Infantino should be replaced as Fifa president has not changed, and further steps on UEFA's stance toward Fifa's leadership are also expected to be discussed at Thursday's meeting. Infantino continues to face pressure from UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf, while retaining support from the African and South American confederations, according to the reports.
This report draws on reporting from BBC Sport, Reuters (via KFGO), the Irish Times, ESPN and Al Jazeera.
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