European nations say World Cup boycott is still on, keeping FIFA's Infantino in limbo

Sports European nations say World Cup boycott is still on, keeping FIFA's Infantino in limbo August 6, 20261:11 PM ET By  Rafael Nam FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks at the Semafor World Economy 2026 in Washington, D.C., on April 15, 2026. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images UEFA — the soccer body that represents 55 European nations — said on Thursday it would maintain its boycott of the World Cup, extending the pressure on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to resign over a failed plan to sell stakes in the tournament to private investors. Soccer Edition Spain is the 2026 World Cup champion, defeating Argentina for its 2nd title UEFA first announced the boycott last week after FIFA unveiled the plan, which would have involved creating a separate venture to handle all commercial operations of the World Cup and other tournaments — and then selling part of the company to financial firms. Infantino said the plan would help raise funds that could be distributed across the world — but instead found himself facing a global storm as soccer officials around the world revolted against a move that would have effectively privatized the World Cup. Sponsor Message But one of the biggest blows to Infantino came from within FIFA after a senior adviser quit while a senior executive issued a blistering statement to the Associated Press opposing the plan and saying it had been hatched by Infantino without any internal consultation. Although Infantino has since abandoned the plan — UEFA said its boycott would remain, saying it wanted a guarantee that FIFA would never again try to commercialize the World Cup in this manner. Sports Gianni Infantino gets internal support at crisis meeting to remain as FIFA president "UEFA's associations were very clear about the conditions attached to the non-participation in FIFA competitions.  First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn and secondly, assurances have to be mad...