UEFA is expected to drop its threat to boycott FIFA competitions after receiving assurances that Gianni Infantino’s controversial plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors will not be revived.
The issue will be discussed at a meeting of UEFA’s executive committee in Monaco on Thursday, with the governing body expected to formally lift the boycott threat.
UEFA had previously warned that the conditions needed to avoid a boycott had not been met, despite Fifa abandoning the proposal following widespread opposition.
The organisation had demanded guarantees that similar attempts to bring private ownership into Fifa competitions would not happen again.
Infantino later told national associations that the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal was “now off the table” and apologised for the “errors” made during the process.
If UEFA removes its boycott threat, next month’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland will go ahead as planned.
Six European nations are due to compete in the tournament, with England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and hosts Poland all involved.
However, UEFA is not expected to soften its wider opposition to Infantino.
Infantino still not backed
European football’s governing body has led the backlash against the Fifa president and is expected to continue pushing for changes to the organisation’s leadership.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has already said he expects Infantino either to resign or face a challenger when FIFA presidential election takes place in March.
Last month, all 55 of UEFA’s member associations voted to boycott FIFA competitions until the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal was completely abandoned and binding guarantees were provided that FIFA would not allow private ownership of its governance or competitions in future.
The proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise would have taken control of the commercial and ticketing rights for FIFA competitions, with a 21% stake initially earmarked for sale to a private investment company.
The dispute has led several national associations to withdraw their support for Infantino, who has been accused by UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation of breaking trust “through deception”.
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