UEFA Maintains FIFA Boycott Following Scrapped World Cup Expansion Plans

UEFA said on Thursday that all 55 of its member associations will keep their boycott of FIFA competitions, despite FIFA President Gianni Infantino withdrawing a proposal that had escalated tensions between the two bodies.

The European governing body said FIFA’s reversal on a plan to sell minority stakes in the World Cup does not resolve what it described as an ongoing governance dispute. UEFA’s position follows its members’ unanimous vote last Thursday to withdraw from all FIFA-sanctioned events.

UEFA says reversal is not enough Infantino’s decision to drop the stake-sale proposal came Infantino’s decision to drop the stake-sale proposal came after the plan drew criticism within football’s leadership. FIFA leadership met in Morocco on Wednesday, where officials backed Infantino and issued an apology for what was described as a botched effort to pursue the sell-off concept. UEFA said those steps do not meet its demands. It is seeking formal, binding assurances that future attempts to commercialize major tournaments through such arrangements will be permanently prohibited. UEFA’s statement framed the dispute as extending beyond a single policy. It said it no longer has confidence in Infantino’s presidency, and it dismissed the supportive statements from FIFA officials as reflecting internal dependency rather than independent judgment.

Legal signals and operational disruption

UEFA has also taken a step that can UEFA has also taken a step that can precede legal action, serving a document preservation letter to FIFA. The move signals that litigation remains a possibility, even as no specific case was detailed in the statement. The standoff is now set to affect the calendar of international competitions. The first major event identified in the timeline is the FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup, which is scheduled to begin on September 5 in Poland. The boycott position, as set out by UEFA, applies to FIFA-sanctioned events broadly rather than being limited to one tournament. That creates uncertainty around participation and coordination if the dispute is not resolved before upcoming fixtures and tournaments proceed. Governance dispute remains unresolved UEFA’s message on Thursday indicated it is not treating FIFA’s policy reversal as a settlement. Instead, it is tying any return to formal guarantees about governance and commercial decision-making involving flagship competitions.

FIFA officials, for their part, have shown public backing for Infantino through their meeting in Morocco, but UEFA has said that support does not restore trust. With both sides holding to their positions, the dispute remains open as the September 5 start date for the tournament in Poland approaches.