[Official] "Boycott all FIFA tournaments": UEFA and its 55 member associations issue joint statement; North, Central America and Caribbean also reject FIFA proposal

*This content was translated by AI.

• FIFA's plan to sell stakes in subsidiaries such as the World Cup faces opposition from 55 European countries and 41 nations in North, Central America and the Caribbean

"The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and its 55 member football associations will not participate in any future FIFA tournaments."

After FIFA unilaterally proposed establishing a subsidiary to manage international football competitions such as the World Cup and selling partial stakes in that subsidiary to private investors, UEFA ultimately pulled out the "boycott of FIFA tournaments" card.

On the 31st (Korean time), UEFA convened an emergency meeting attended by its 55 member associations and announced a unanimous and firm rejection of FIFA's proposal to transfer stakes in FIFA football competitions such as the World Cup to private investors, stating that it would boycott FIFA tournaments.

The 55 UEFA member associations emphasized that "the World Cup is football's greatest legacy and cannot be treated like an investment product," adding that "it has been created over generations by players from all continents around the world, national teams, and fans. The World Cup is not for sale."

They further criticized that "a proposal with major implications for football was conducted in secret without any consultation, which is irresponsible and cannot be justified," stating that "this goes beyond a serious failure of leadership; it is an act of abandoning FIFA's duty as the guardian of world football."

UEFA stated that "the moment external investors hold stakes in FIFA competitions, football will change forever. Commercial profit becomes an obligation, and investor expectations become daily pressure," adding that "all decisions determining the future of football, including international match schedules and competition formats, will become choices made for shareholders' interests rather than for the sake of football."

It then warned: "Europe's position is clear. We will not legitimize the model proposed by FIFA. Unless this proposal is fully withdrawn and FIFA provides a binding guarantee that it will not allow private ownership in its governance or competition management going forward, national teams affiliated with UEFA will not participate in any FIFA tournaments."

On the same day, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) also issued a joint statement declaring its rejection of FIFA's proposal.

CONCACAF stated that "during a meeting attended by the heads of 41 member football associations and the CONCACAF president, deep concerns were raised regarding FIFA's proposal: it did not follow appropriate procedures, was given an abnormally short review period, and no review or approval was conducted by relevant FIFA governance bodies. Questions were also raised about whether private investment is necessary to generate new revenue even after hosting the World Cup with the highest profits in history."

It further announced that "CONCACAF and its 41 member football associations have decided to reject FIFA's proposal," and that "the task of negotiating an expansion of existing funding provided by FIFA, as well as demanding compliance with FIFA's lawful governance procedures, has been delegated to CONCACAF members serving on the FIFA Council."

Previously, FIFA sparked controversy by announcing plans to establish a subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE) to manage international competitions such as the World Cup, broadcasting rights, and sponsorships. FIFA estimated FFE's value at $20 billion (approximately 28.6 trillion won) and stated it would raise up to $4.2 billion (approximately 6 trillion won) by selling non-controlling minority stakes to external investors. FIFA's plan was to increase the scale of support for football development to over $10 billion (14.3 trillion won).

Even Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, sent a letter to all 211 member football associations requesting that they declare their support or opposition to the plan by September 19. He explained that if an association supports the FIFA plan, it would receive up to $40 million (approximately 57.1 billion won) in support; however, if it does not participate in the plan, it would receive only $2.7 million (approximately 3.9 billion won) under the current distribution system.

However, FIFA's proposal sparked controversy because it was formulated and announced without prior consultation with continental football confederations such as UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), or with member national associations. Furthermore, foreign media reports indicated that an investment company owned by Joshua Kushner, brother-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, was among the potential investor candidates.

Ultimately, following UEFA, CONCACAF also collectively raised objections to FIFA's plan and even pulled out the hardline card of boycotting FIFA tournaments. Shortly after FIFA announced its proposal, the AFC also expressed a de facto opposition stance, stating that "such a far-reaching proposal must be based on principles of proper governance, transparency, and meaningful consultation. Decisions that could alter football's commercial and financial future require prior consultation with continental confederations and member associations before being submitted to decision-making bodies."

While the AFC is expected to issue an official position soon, similar to UEFA and CONCACAF, if all its member nations oppose the plan, the number of national football associations opposing FIFA's proposal would rise to 143 across three continents. For FIFA's current plan to be implemented, it requires support from more than half of all member national football associations (211 in total).

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*This content was translated by AI.