FIFA Hit With Brutal Boycott Over Plans to Sell Pieces of World Cup

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is pulling out of future World Cups over FIFA’s plan to sell shares to the highest bidder, including members of President Donald Trump’s inner circle.

UEFA announced Thursday that the organization of 55 national associations “will not participate in FIFA competitions” going forward. The decision comes shortly after FIFA President Gianni Infantino threatened to cut funding from teams that don’t get behind his money-making scheme.

“We unanimously and unequivocally reject FIFA’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors,” the statement said.

Last week, FIFA announced the creation of the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which is expected to raise up to $4.2 million in the next year by “carefully selecting long-term investors who will purchase minority, non-controlling interests in FFE.”

Critics immediately decried the decision to sell stakes in the World Cup, which is managed by FIFA, a non-profit organization. The move could potentially earn Infantino tens of millions of dollars.

“This model has no place in the world of football,” UEFA said in its statement. The group said it would continue to boycott so long as Infantino’s proposal “stayed alive.”

Infantino reportedly held investor discussions with members of the Trump administration. The move came amid mounting concerns over Infantino’s relationship with Trump, after the U.S. president openly bullied FIFA into lifting a red card against a player on the U.S. men’s soccer team.

In addition, FIFA reportedly stated that once the approval was granted, the investor group would be led by Thrive Eternal, a venture capital firm run by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared who is under investigation for alleged corruption. ...