\u2060slammed the football governing body\u2019s plans<\/a>, saying the tournament was not a commercial asset that belonged to a few executives.<\/p>\n\u201cFootball belongs to no individual and \u2060\u2060to no institution. It belongs to the people,\u201d Blatter told the news agency Reuters on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Britain\u2019s \u2060culture \u2060minister, Lisa Nandy, on Thursday backed UEFA\u2019s \u2060decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis \u2060is a principled \u2060decision that we strongly support,\u201d Nandy said in \u2060a statement. \u201cFootball belongs \u2060to the fans, \u2060not billionaire investors. Enough is enough. It\u2019s time \u200cto take a stand to protect our \u200cgame.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her words came after United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham took to X on Tuesday with an immediate response to the proposals.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me say this very directly. Football does not belong to investors. It belongs to the people who fill the stands and who stand on the touchline week in, week out, rain or shine,\u201d Burnham said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone\u2019s to sell. Dress the deal up however you like. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out.<\/p>\n
\u201cFootball belongs to the fans. It always has, and it always will,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
What does UEFA\u2019s move mean for Infantino\u2019s FIFA presidency?<\/h2>\n
Infantino\u2019s high-stakes financial gambit now could threaten his previously secure 11-year presidency of FIFA as anger and frustration with him rise among football stakeholders, including three of the six continental bodies.<\/p>\n
FIFA has set a November 18 deadline for potential candidates to declare in a presidential vote of the 211 members scheduled next March in Rabat, Morocco.<\/p>\n
Infantino had seemed \u2013 11 days ago after the World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey \u2013 to have a clear path to being re-elected unopposed for a fourth and final term in office through 2031.<\/p>\n
Football officials have said privately Infantino eyes a commissioner-like role at the FIFA Forward Enterprise spinoff beyond 2031.<\/p>\n
\u201cGame over, Gianni #InfantinOUT,\u201d the Football Supporters Europe group, which advises UEFA on fan issues such as ticket prices, posted after the boycott threat.<\/p>\n
What was the rest of UEFA\u2019s statement about boycotting FIFA?<\/h2>\n
\u201cIt is both irresponsible and indefensible that a proposal of such significance for football was conceived in secret and brought to the brink of approval without any meaningful consultation with those entrusted with stewarding the game,\u201d the UEFA statement continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA\u2019s duty as the custodian of world \u200cfootball.<\/p>\n
\u201cNational associations around the world are now presented with an ultimatum: accept the irreversible capture of football\u2019s greatest competitions or bear the consequences. This is not a \u2018democratic decision\u2019, but governance by intimidation \u2013 an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut our opposition goes far beyond process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe moment external investors acquire ownership interests in FIFA competitions, football changes forever. Commercial return becomes a permanent obligation. Investor expectations become a daily pressure. From that moment onwards, every decision on the international calendar, every decision on competition formats and \u2060every decision shaping the future of football is no longer driven by what best \u2060serves the game, but by what best serves shareholders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis model has no place in world football. Football\u2019s future cannot be dictated by the expectations of those whose first duty is to maximise financial return. Nor can the interests of national associations, leagues, clubs, players and supporters become \u2060subordinate to investor returns. Football cannot mortgage its future for financial gain.<\/p>\n
\u201cEurope\u2019s position is clear. We will never lend this model our legitimacy. No one has the moral authority \u2060to sell what they merely hold in trust for the next generation.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody should be in any doubt: UEFA and its national associations will oppose these plans with absolute determination.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are moments when institutions are judged not by what they are prepared to accept, but by what they refuse to compromise. \u200cThis \u200cis one of those moments.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome things are simply too important to sell. The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Read More<\/a>Becki Coby<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Soccer European football\u2019s governing body, UEFA, has voted to boycott FIFA events \u2013 including the World Cup \u2013 if FIFA proceeds with plans to sell stakes in a new commercial subsidiary to private investors. The unanimous vote by UEFA member federations agreed on Thursday to boycott all FIFA competitions in protest against Gianni Infantino\u2019s plan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":923689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3903,920,2005],"tags":[15603,7823],"class_list":["post-923688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boycott","category-members","category-soccer","tag-boycott","tag-members"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/923688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=923688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/923688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/923689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=923688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=923688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=923688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}