UEFA votes unanimously to boycott FIFA tournaments over private investment plan

UEFA announced on Tuesday that its 55 member federations voted unanimously to boycott FIFA's World Cup and other tournaments. The decision came at an extraordinary meeting in response to a proposal from FIFA President Gianni Infantino to create a subsidiary to run the tournaments and sell up to 20 percent of its shares to outside investors. UEFA said the vote produced full consensus and reflected a shared stance against the privatization of sport. Under the plan, national federations were to receive payments of up to $40 million and were required to give approval by September 19. UEFA had previously described the arrangement as an effort to enrich FIFA and its inner circle. A European boycott would remove the world's top-ranked national teams and star players from FIFA-organized competitions. UEFA said the World Cup is a historic sporting event and that no structure has the authority to sell it as a financial asset. The vote deepened the open conflict between FIFA and European football's regional body, intensifying tensions between the global governing body and its most powerful confederation. It remained unclear on Tuesday how FIFA would respond or what legal dimensions the dispute might take.