UEFA is set to formally withdraw its threat to boycott FIFA competitions after receiving assurances Gianni Infantino‘s failed World Cup sell-off plan will not be revived.
UEFA’s member federations are meeting on Thursday in Monaco ahead of the Champions League draw, where they are expected to end the boycott threat, a person familiar with the proposal told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the closed-doors meeting.
Ruling out a boycott will clear six European teams to continue preparing for the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup that kicks off Sept. 5 in Poland.
France and Spain named their squads last week for the 24-nation tournament which risked becoming an unwanted battleground in European football’s pushback against Infantino’s private investor plan. England, Italy, Portugal and host Poland also will play.
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Infantino infuriated the sport’s leaders worldwide last month when his plan for a $20 billion subsidiary controlling FIFA commercial rights including the World Cup was revealed by British daily The Times. The spinoff was to be 20% owned by investors led by a New York fund created by Joshua Kushner.
The FIFA president dropped his proposal within four days amid a furious backlash led by UEFA, including the boycott threat, with support from the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf. The furor was fueled by criticism of the plan and Infantino from senior FIFA officials.
UEFA then said it wanted assurances the spinoff, to be called FIFA Forward Enterprise, would not be presented in a different form. That assurance was now received, the person told the AP.
UEFA said Aug. 1 it had no confidence in Infantino’s leadership in a clear signal it would try to stop his reelection in March next year. FIFA previously set a Nov. 18 deadline for candidates to enter the presidential contest, four months ahead of the vote by 211 member federations in Rabat, Morocco.
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Infantino had seemed sure to be reelected unopposed for a fourth and final term in office through 2031 until the turmoil created by his investor plan.
The 55 UEFA member federations are attending the meeting in Monaco four weeks after they united in an online call to agree the threatened boycott.
Meanwhile, the Italian football federation became the latest in a growing list of nations to withdraw its support for Infantino.
The FIGC issued a statement on Wednesday saying it would no longer back Infantino’s bid for reelection in March because of “the recent initiatives promoted by the FIFA president concerning governance and the development of international competitions.”
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“We will continue to work alongside UEFA and the other European federations to promote a vision of soccer based on merit, solidarity, sustainability, and the centrality of fans,” FIGC President Giovanni Malagò said.
“We identify with a model of dialogue, listening, and shared responsibility that has, until now, allowed soccer to grow, innovate and at the same time defend its founding principles.”
Romania followed suit on Wednesday, with the federation’s executive committee voting not support Infantino for a new mandate.
“FIFA needs today a new leader who can produce consensus and unity, inspire trust and who has the ability to bring us all together,” FRF President Răzvan Burleanu said at the end of the meeting.
