UEFA to End FIFA Boycott Threat After World Cup Plan Assurance

UEFA is about to drop its threat to boycott FIFA competitions. This comes after FIFA assured UEFA that Gianni Infantino's plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and other big tournaments will not be brought back.

The decision will be confirmed at a UEFA executive committee meeting in Monaco. UEFA is happy that its main conditions for ending the boycott threat have been met.

All 55 member associations of UEFA had agreed to the boycott when they learned about FIFA Forward Enterprises. This plan would let private investors buy stakes in major FIFA competitions.

BBC Sport reported that on Wednesday, UEFA demanded the withdrawal of the plan. They also asked FIFA to guarantee that similar proposals would not be made in the future.

FIFA dropped the proposal after facing strong opposition. UEFA has now received confirmations that this will not happen again.

This decision means European teams are likely to join the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland next month. The tournament starts on 5 September. England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Poland will be among the European countries competing.

But UEFA’s lifting of the boycott threat does not mean they support Infantino's leadership. UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin continues to speak against FIFA's president. European football officials are still focused on pushing for better governance reforms in world football.

UEFA is expected to let its teams play while still pushing for changes at FIFA. This news reduces the immediate risk of a serious clash between UEFA and FIFA. But the issues around Infantino's leadership and the future management of world football are still unresolved.