Skip to main content

UEFA provisionally suspends FIFA boycott threat after Forward Enterprise ‌abandoned

Infantino is a highly unpopular figure
Infantino is a highly unpopular figureREUTERS / Dado Ruvic

UEFA said on Thursday it had ⁠provisionally suspended plans to withdraw European teams from FIFA competitions after ‌world football's governing body confirmed its ‌controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise project ‌had been permanently abandoned.

Europe's governing body ‌said it had written assurances that ‌the proposal championed by FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, which would have ‌sold a stake in future ⁠World Cups ‌to outside investors, had been "irrevocably and permanently ​withdrawn".

"Having now secured the two assurances it required from ​FIFA on 30 July, and following consultation with its National Associations, ⁠UEFA has ​therefore agreed to suspend, on a provisional basis, the withdrawal by European teams from FIFA competitions in ‌the coming season," UEFA said.

However, UEFA said the wider governance crisis at FIFA remained unresolved and that European football officials had unanimously mandated the confederation to pursue "every available institutional, political and legal avenue" to secure reforms and ‌restore limits on presidential authority.

The confederation ​also called for "a genuinely independent ‌external review" of the failed FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, saying: "FIFA cannot investigate itself and expect the football community simply to accept ⁠its conclusions."

Chances are you’re about to lose.

For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au