Some institutions in sport carry an authority that feels untouchable.
And then they overreach.
Where everything unravels.
FIFA’s attempt to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors has triggered the most serious crisis in world football governance in decades.
And one word from UEFA has captured exactly what it feels like.
UEFA vote to boycott all FIFA competitions and accuse governing body of “blackmail” after World Cup sell-off plan
According to Sky News, UEFA’s 55 member associations voted unanimously at an emergency online meeting to boycott all FIFA competitions, including the World Cup itself, for as long as Infantino’s plan to sell a 20% stake in a new commercial subsidiary remained alive.
The vote was unanimous.
Every single UEFA nation.
The statement that followed was extraordinary in its directness.
“National associations around the world are now presented with an ultimatum: accept the irreversible capture of football’s greatest competitions or bear the consequences. This is not a democratic decision, but governance by intimidation, an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game.”
The language UEFA used publicly was even more explicit.
They called it blackmail.
The proposed value was $20 billion.
Yet, the amount FIFA intended to raise through the sale of minority stakes was $4.2 billion.
The investors waiting in the wings included Thrive Eternal, a firm founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother-in-law of Jared Kushner and connected directly to the Trump family.
FIFA pushed back fiercely.
“Nobody is selling football,” came the response, a statement that only intensified the furore rather than calming it.
FA chair Debbie Hewitt and chief executive Mark Bullingham were both present at the UEFA emergency meeting and both spoke out against the plan.
Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino, resigned.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said publicly that Infantino was “the wrong man to lead FIFA.”
The pressure became untenable.
The plan was abandoned.
But the consequences have only just begun.
Wales have withdrawn their support for Infantino’s re-election.
England followed.
And UEFA has since issued a legal preservation notice, indicating that formal proceedings may follow regardless of the plan’s abandonment.
The crisis is not over.
It has simply entered its next phase.
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