Uefa Boycotts Fifa Over Private Investor Plan
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- Uefa's 55 member associations voted to boycott all Fifa competitions until Infantino withdraws his plan to create a commercial subsidiary selling minority stakes to external investors
- Anita Asante, former England defender, warned women's football tournaments will be the 'first casualties,' saying Fifa 'have not considered the implications of their decision'
- Uefa's boycott will first be tested at the Fifa Under-20 Women's World Cup starting 5 September in Poland, followed by Women's World Cup qualifiers in October for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
- Infantino has set a 19 September deadline for federations to accept the proposals for a new subsidiary called Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), with American venture capital firm Thrive Eternal — founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner — expected to lead the investor group
- Concacaf's 41 member associations 'rejected' the proposal while the Asian Football Confederation said it 'stands in solidarity' with Europe and North/Central America
- Carlos Cordeiro, senior adviser to Infantino, resigned calling the deal 'a bad deal for football' that would 'mortgage football's future'
- A 25-page JP Morgan document outlining the plan's financial projections makes no mention of the women's game, according to BBC Sport
Why it matters: The dispute puts concrete upcoming women's tournaments — the Under-20 World Cup in Poland on 5 September and October qualifiers for Brazil 2027 — directly in the crossfire of a governance standoff. With Infantino's 19 September acceptance deadline looming and Thrive Eternal (linked to Jared Kushner's family) lined up to lead investors, the federation boycott now spans Uefa, Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation, threatening to derail women's international football schedules.
