UEFA has declared that it will boycott all FIFA competitions, including World Cups, until a controversial proposal to bring in private investment is killed.
The European soccer governing body held an emergency meeting on Thursday, July 30, after which it released a statement saying that all of its 55 member associations were unanimous in their opposition.
"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. No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale," UEFA said.
The statement continued: "As a result of today’s discussion, 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."
The boycott could come into play as soon as September, when the U-20 Women's World Cup is scheduled to kick off in Poland, a member of UEFA.
Without countries from UEFA, typically the strongest overall confederation on both the men's and women's side, FIFA competitions would lose a huge amount of relevance.
What is FIFA's proposal?
The proposal would see FIFA created a subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
FFE would control much of FIFA's most lucrative enterprises for its tournaments, including the World Cup. FFE would run commercial and event operations, including broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing deals.
The new subsidiary would be hugely valuable, of course, and in order to cash in on this value, FIFA is looking to bring in outside investors. FIFA has said its goal is to initially raise $4.2 billion for FFE, which would be based on a $20 billion valuation.
But the plan has generated a huge amount of controversy, which UEFA outlined in its statement on Thursday.
"The moment external investors acquire ownership interests in FIFA competitions, football changes forever," it said.
"Commercial return becomes a permanent obligation. Investor expectations become a daily pressure. From that moment onwards, every decision on the international calendar, every decision on competition formats and every decision shaping the future of football is no longer driven by what best serves the game, but by what best serves shareholders."
UEFA and FIFA have history
UEFA emerging as the main opposition to the plan is not hugely surprising. The European governing body and FIFA have been at odds over several major issues in recent years.
Most recently, FIFA's expanded Club World Cup has been threatened UEFA's flagship club competition, the Champions League.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UEFA to boycott all FIFA competitions over private investment plan
