UEFA deactivates boycott threat against FIFA

UEFA announced on Thursday the provisional suspension of its plans to withdraw European teams from FIFA competitions, after the world football governing body confirmed that its controversial “FIFA Forward Enterprise” project had been definitively abandoned.

The European football confederation said it received written assurances that the proposal, championed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino—which would have involved selling a stake in future World Cups to external investors—had been “irrevocably and definitively withdrawn.”

“Having obtained the two assurances it demanded from FIFA on July 30, and after consulting with its national associations, UEFA has agreed to provisionally suspend the withdrawal of European teams from FIFA competitions next season,” UEFA stated.

However, UEFA noted that FIFA’s governance crisis remains unresolved and that European football leaders unanimously tasked the confederation with exploring «all institutional, political and legal avenues» to ensure reforms and restore limits on presidential authority.

The confederation also called for “a truly independent external review” of the failed FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, stating that “FIFA cannot investigate itself and expect the football community to simply accept its conclusions.”