Surprisingly, Aleksander Čeferin, the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), has managed to keep his flock in line. Meeting by videoconference on Thursday, all 55 of UEFA's national associations adopted a remarkable statement calling on FIFA's fiend, Gianni Infantino, to drop the FIFA Forward Enterprise nonsense – a scheme that could net Infantino an annual salary of more than 60 million dollars as the future FFE Commissioner, following his FIFA presidency, as first reported by Martyn Ziegler in The Times.
"UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions," reads the opening line of this historic statement. In over 30 years of intensive investigative work on FIFA, I cannot recall a threat of this magnitude.
Jens Weinreich
"UEFA and its 55 member associations stand as one. We unanimously and unequivocally reject FIFA's proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors."
Čeferin had already fended off a major investor plan of Infantino's back in 2018: Project Trophy, which involved SoftBank among others, came with a dubious promise of 25 billion dollars. Čeferin subsequently thwarted the plans for the Super League as well, and in between he had to see off Infantino's plan for a World Cup every two years. Not a bad track record for the Slovenian.
Let's wait and see.
But Infantino is not beaten yet. The FIFA boss met Morocco's King Mohammed VI, one of the 2030 World Cup hosts, in Rabat today. Let's see how he reacts to UEFA's threat. Infantino needs 106 of the 211 national federations. 106 refusals would stop him.
Whilst we're at it: this Trump crony, who wants to be re-elected in 2027 for a term running to 2031, should be removed for good — from FIFA and from the IOC.
In any case, UEFA member associations will not take part in FIFA competitions if Infantino does not scrap his plans. Incidentally, there are still two FIFA competitions scheduled for 2026:
- the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup kicks off in Poland on 5 September
- the FIFA U-17 World Cup runs in Qatar from 19 November to 13 December
Subscribers can find the 25-page presentation by FIFA and JP Morgan below, behind the paywall.
This is what UEFA says:
UEFA and its 55 member associations stand as one. We unanimously and unequivocally reject FIFA's proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors.
The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of football's greatest sporting legacies. It has been built up over generations by players, national teams and supporters across every continent. No part of it should ever be handed over to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.
It is both irresponsible and indefensible that a proposal of such significance for football was devised in secret and brought to the brink of approval without any meaningful consultation with those entrusted with stewarding the game. This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA's duty as the custodian of world football.
National associations around the world are now faced with an ultimatum: accept the irreversible capture of football's greatest competitions or face 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.
But our opposition goes far beyond the process itself.
The moment external investors acquire ownership stakes in FIFA competitions, football changes forever. Commercial returns become a permanent obligation. Investor expectations become a daily source of pressure. From that moment onwards, every decision regarding the international calendar, every decision on competition formats and every decision shaping the future of football is no longer driven by what best serves the game, but by what best serves shareholders.
This model has no place in world football. Football's future cannot be dictated by the expectations of those whose primary duty is to maximise financial returns. Nor can the interests of national associations, leagues, clubs, players and supporters be subordinated to investor returns. Football cannot mortgage its future for financial gain.
Europe's position is clear. We will never lend this model our legitimacy. No one has the moral authority to sell what they merely hold in trust for the next generation.
As a result of today's discussion, no UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for as long as these proposals remain on the table, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership.
Let there be no doubt: UEFA and its national associations will oppose these plans with absolute determination.
There are moments when institutions are judged not by what they are prepared to accept, but by what they refuse to compromise on. This is one of those moments.
Some things are simply too important to sell. The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And as long as Europe has a say, it will never be for sale.
This matter is taking on historic proportions and will keep us occupied for some time.
Stay tuned.
And do take a look at the presentation prepared by FIFA for the national associations on the FFE project. It is worth your time.
British journalists were the first to work through the document on Thursday afternoon, among them Rob Harris of Sky News. His central finding: the whole thing is meant to move far faster than Infantino's letter to the associations suggests.
The presentation, marked "CONFIDENTIAL – NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION", sets out an "indicative FIFA Fast Forward process timeline" that runs from the announcement in July to "completion" in late October — outreach and due diligence in August, initial letters of intent in September, binding bids in October, and then, in the final box:
"Investors transfer funds to FIFA by end of October."
Less than 100 days, in other words, while Infantino is telling the associations that a "consultation process" has only just begun and that they have until 19 September to make up their minds.
