Europe Threatens World Cup Boycott as North America and Asia Join Opposition

[Anchor]

FIFA's plan to attract private investment is facing fierce backlash. The Union of European Football Associations has declared a World Cup boycott, with the Asian and North American confederations also joining the opposition.

[Reporter]

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) held an emergency meeting and unanimously adopted a statement opposing FIFA's recently announced plan to establish a subsidiary and attract private investment among all 55 member states.

UEFA declared, "We firmly reject the proposal to transfer ownership stakes in FIFA tournaments to private investors," adding, "If they do not make a binding commitment not to open to the private sector, we will not participate in FIFA-organized national team competitions."

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf), with 41 member nations, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), with 47 member nations, also issued statements joining the opposition.

Notably, the U.S. Soccer Federation released a separate statement saying it would align with the North American confederation.

According to FIFA's plan, Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, was set to lead the private investment, prompting the U.S. soccer community to publicly rebel against it.

With three continents accounting for 67% of all member nations publicly opposing the move, FIFA, which had announced the plan with confidence, took a step back.

Issuing a separate statement, FIFA clarified, "Selling off football has never been considered," and stated, "The subsidiary will be structured so that FIFA permanently owns and controls it, and it will not be established unless it wins approval from a majority of all 211 member nations."

The Athletic reported, "It was widely predicted that President Gianni Infantino would be re-elected unopposed in the FIFA presidential election next March, but this crisis has shattered trust in Infantino, leading to calls within European and North American member nations to find a challenger against Infantino."

(Video Editing: Hwang Ji-young, Design: Cho Su-in)

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