UEFA threatens World Cup boycott over FIFA’s $4.2 billion stake sale
What’s next: FIFA needs 75% member support by Sept. 19 to approve the plan, which Concacaf also rejected.
UEFA threatened Thursday to pull its 55 member associations out of FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, unless FIFA drops a plan to sell a 20% stake in a new commercial entity to private investors. FIFA said the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise would take over commercial and event operations and raise as much as $4.2 billion from outside investors. UEFA called the move secretive and said the World Cup should not be turned into an investment product. Concacaf, which represents 41 associations in North and Central America and the Caribbean, also rejected the proposal. FIFA has sent the plan to its 211 member nations, with a Sept. 19 deadline and 75% support needed to change its bylaws.