UEFA has kept its FIFA boycott threat in place after FIFA abandoned a plan to sell a stake in a new commercial venture, while African football’s governing body has backed Gianni Infantino.
The plan, as reported by Sky Sports, would have moved commercial operations for the World Cup and other FIFA tournaments into a separate venture, with a stake in that venture then sold to financial firms.
It was abandoned after several days of intense opposition from European football bodies.
Why the UEFA boycott threat against FIFA still stands
UEFA said the retreat did not settle the dispute, pointing to the statement of support that Infantino received from FIFA’s own management board. Confirming that its boycott threat remained in place, the European confederation said:
“Yesterday’s announcement that some people employed by the FIFA president, and whose careers depend on his favour, agree with him changes nothing.”
Players’ union FIFPro has accused FIFA of an “abuse of presidential power” over the way Gianni Infantino has handled the episode.
The FA, England’s football association, has formally withdrawn its support for his re-election, while FIFA’s management board has given him its full backing.
What the abandoned FIFA commercial plan involved
The proposal would have created a separate company to run the commercial side of FIFA’s tournaments, covering the broadcasting and sponsorship rights that currently sit inside the governing body.
A stake in that company was then to be sold to financial firms, bringing outside investors into World Cup revenue.
European objections centred on ownership. FIFA runs its competitions on behalf of 211 member associations, and selling a share of the commercial rights would have handed private shareholders a claim on income that the confederations expect to be redistributed through the game.
Swisher Post reported earlier on the letter in which Infantino apologised to FIFA’s member associations for errors in the aborted plan, sent after a crisis meeting at the governing body’s Africa office in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday, 5 August 2026.
Why CAF breaking ranks with the other confederations matters
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has broken from the European, Asian and North and Central American bodies that criticised the plan, backing Infantino and thanking him for “his support for African football”.
FIFA’s presidency is decided by member associations, and that is what gives the split its weight.
CAF has 54 member associations, second only to UEFA’s 55. In a contested FIFA election, a confederation that holds together behind one candidate carries influence out of proportion to the commercial size of its leagues.
What a boycott of FIFA tournaments would mean
A boycott by UEFA would keep European teams out of a FIFA tournament. Since European qualifying decides which sides fill the continent’s slots, an empty allocation would remove a large share of the highest-ranked national teams from the field, along with the broadcast value attached to them.
Infantino faces no criminal allegation; the dispute is institutional, over who controls the commercial rights to football’s largest tournaments.
CAF’s endorsement and the FA’s withdrawal now leave the confederations that have not yet declared themselves holding the balance ahead of any re-election vote.
