UEFA Threatens FIFA Boycott Over Investor Plan

The member associations of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) have unanimously voted to boycott the World Cup and other competitions organized by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) unless the governing body abandons plans to sell a stake in a new subsidiary that will run its tournaments to external investors.

The decision was taken at a virtual UEFA meeting on Thursday. The European football federation said FIFA's proposal amounted to unacceptable interference in the management of the sport's most prestigious competitions and rejected further commercialization through private investment.

Any boycott would also affect the World Cup, setting the stage for an unprecedented confrontation between football's two most powerful organizations.

(Reuters, mja)