Every Major European Team Threatens to Boycott FIFA Over a Plan to Sell 20% of the World Cup

Every major European national soccer team threatened Thursday to collectively boycott competitions run by FIFA over the governing body's plan to sell a minority stake in the World Cup to private investors — the sharpest institutional revolt the sport has seen in decades.

UEFA, European soccer's governing body, said all of its national members would refuse to take part in FIFA competitions unless the proposal is "abandoned in its entirety." In a statement, UEFA said it "unanimously and unequivocally reject FIFA's proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors," calling the idea "both irresponsible and indefensible." The boycott stands, it said, "for so long as these proposals remain alive," and until "binding assurances have been given that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership."

The plan, called FIFA Forward Enterprise, would let a group of private investors buy up to a 20% minority stake in a FIFA-controlled company managing the commercial side of the World Cup — broadcast rights, sponsorships, ticketing and licensing. FIFA has said the new entity would be valued at $20 billion and that the revenue it generates would be reinvested in developing the sport worldwide. "Too little of football's growing commercial value reaches the parts of the game that need it most," FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a video statement Wednesday, arguing the plan "would unlock the sport's potential in every corner of the world across men's, women's and youth football." The proposal goes to a vote by FIFA's 211 member states in September, and a document shared with members and obtained by CBS News said FIFA hopes to have all investment funds raised by the end of October if it passes.

FIFA has confirmed that Thrive Eternal, a subsidiary of Joshua Kushner's Thrive Capital, would lead the investor group. Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, and Infantino's close relationship with Mr. Trump drew scrutiny throughout this summer's World Cup, hosted jointly by the United States, Mexico and Canada. A source close to Thrive Capital dismissed the criticism to CBS News hours before the boycott was announced. "I think the first assumption is that Trump was involved in FFE in any capacity, which is just not accurate," the source said. "Josh himself does not have any links with the administration, he does not have any political roles, he has not donated to them, he is not involved in any capacity." The source added that Thrive now has $60 billion under management and that Kushner is "a pretty successful business person in his own right."

Later Thursday, CONCACAF — the 41-member confederation governing North and Central American and Caribbean soccer — also rejected the plan after an emergency meeting, though it stopped short of a boycott. Its members, the body said, expressed "deep concerns about the lack of due process surrounding the proposal, the artificially short deadline imposed, and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governance bodies," and questioned why private equity was needed at all "following the most profitable FIFA World Cup in history."

The backlash has spread well beyond the sport's committee rooms. Britain's new prime minister, Andy Burnham, wrote on social media Tuesday that "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." He added: "The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone's to sell. Dress the deal up however you like. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out." In Washington, Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, announced Tuesday that he would investigate ties between Infantino and Mr. Trump, citing what House Judiciary Democrats called "mounting evidence of a potential quid pro quo" and "deceptive World Cup ticketing practices."