UEFA will hold an emergency meeting of its 55 members on Thursday, sources have told ESPN, to discuss plans, including a potential World Cup boycott, as it coordinates its response to FIFA‘s proposal to sell a stake in the tournament to private investors.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino revealed the proposal on Tuesday to raise $20 billion from a sale of equity to outside investors, saying that the plan will “unleash the commercial potential and opportunity that FIFA has.”
News of the meeting comes after UEFA accused FIFA on Wednesday of using the sport “to enrich themselves and their friends.”
The proposal has also drawn scathing criticism from various figures across the sport, including LaLiga president Javier Tebas, who wrote on X on Wednesday: “This does not look like reform. It looks like an election campaign financed by the future of football.
“Development cannot be used to buy votes or silence. FIFA’s competitions and commercial rights are not Infantino’s personal property. Anyone who mixes politics, discipline, money and power without transparency cannot lead anything.
“Infantino is not the solution to FIFA’s governance. He is the problem. We are delving deeper into the iceberg and what remains to come to the surface.”
The English Football Association also criticised the proposal, writing in a statement: “We were completely unaware of this proposal and have no substantive details, including what the proposal actually is, and what conditions are attached.
“Based on the limited information, we are deeply concerned about the lack of process and governance to get to this point, and the apparent substance and principles involved.
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“When the proposal is shared in the full and transparent way now promised by FIFA, we will make our views clear, and comment further.”
In an interview released by FIFA on Wednesday, Infantino defended the plan, arguing that “it is a golden opportunity to turbocharge the development of the game globally.”
He added: “Too little of football’s growing commercial value reaches the parts of the game that need it most.
“Capturing that value requires additional expertise, additional insight, distinct from governing and developing the sport.”
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Infantino set a Sept. 19 deadline on Wednesday for the 211 member federations to approve his proposed private investment plan, which would give each nation access to up to $40 million in funding.
The letter sent to member federations said that an initial $10 billion funding package would be available if the plan is approved, compares to $2.7 billion if it is rejected.
Information from ESPN’s Mark Ogden and Adriana Garcia contributed to this report.
