The UEFA emblem is pictured on the headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. — Reuters
Uefa’s member associations have unanimously voted to boycott the World Cup and different Fifa competitions in protest at Fifa’s plan to promote stakes to exterior traders in a subsidiary that may run the worldwide governing physique’s tournaments, European soccer’s governing physique mentioned following a digital assembly on Thursday.
World soccer’s ruling physique mentioned on Tuesday it plans to create a $20 billion subsidiary to run the World Cup and its different occasions and can provide stakes of as much as 20% in it to exterior traders.
“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 mentioned in an announcement.
“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,” Uefa added.
“No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.”
A spokesperson for the English FA backed the choice, saying the organisation “stands shoulder to shoulder with our European colleagues”.
The Asian Soccer Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF additionally strongly criticised Fifa earlier, saying they weren’t consulted within the course of.
The Girls’s World Cup is about to be held in Brazil subsequent 12 months. Fifa is about to stage its inaugural Below-15 World Cup in Azerbaijan in October.
