UEFA has maintained that its member associations could still boycott FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, despite FIFA president, Gianni Infantino apologising for his failed attempt to sell stakes in the tournament.
The warning came a day after FIFA’s senior leadership meeting in Rabat, Morocco, where the governing body admitted “mistakes were made” over the controversial proposal and reaffirmed its full support for Infantino’s leadership.
In a statement on Thursday, UEFA said the conditions it set for reversing its boycott threat had not been met, insisting FIFA had neither provided guarantees that similar proposals would never be pursued again nor restored confidence in its leadership.
“UEFA’s associations were very clear about the conditions attached to the non-participation in FIFA competitions,” the European governing body said. “These conditions have not been met.”
UEFA also reiterated that it had lost confidence in Infantino’s presidency, dismissing FIFA’s backing of the president as insufficient to address the wider governance concerns raised by the failed World Cup commercialisation plan.
The pressure on Infantino continued to mount, with global players’ union FIFPRO accusing him of “a profound abuse of presidential power.” The English Football Association also withdrew its support for his re-election, while Amnesty International called for governance reforms within FIFA.
FIFA said its leadership hoped the Morocco summit would help restore confidence after abandoning the proposal to sell profits from the World Cup through a commercial subsidiary. The governing body pledged to ensure similar mistakes would not be repeated.
The proposal had already been rejected by Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation before FIFA officially abandoned the plan. Although senior FIFA figures, including Arsène Wenger and secretary general Mattias Grafström, had distanced themselves from the proposal, Grafström later joined other senior officials in reaffirming support for Infantino.
Oluwagbemisola Babalola
