FAI joins Uefa nations in World Cup boycott

The Football Association of Ireland is joining the rest of Uefa’s national associations in boycotting all Fifa competitions over plans to sell a stake in the World Cup to private-equity firms. Fifa asked its member associations on Tuesday to approve a plan to transfer the commercial interests of the World Cup and all other Fifa competitions to a new subsidiary, up to 20 per cent of which would be sold to private investors. But in what marks an extraordinary rupture in global football, Uefa’s 55 members issued a statement following a meeting on Thursday to say they are boycotting Fifa competitions until the proposals are abandoned and binding assurances are given that they will not be resurrected. In a blistering statement, Uefa called Fifa’s presentation of the proposals “an act of coercion.” Fifa president Gianni Infantino wrote to member associations on Tuesday to outline the proposals, saying their adoption would boost members’ funding to $20 million over four years, and that members had until September 19th to agree to the proposals and earn a bonus $20 million payment on January 1st next year.READ MORE[ Uefa to boycott World Cup if Fifa plans go through to sell stakes to private investorsOpens in new window ]Fifa needs a simple majority of its 211 members to adopt the proposal, but a boycott by European nations would decimate the commercial value of all Fifa competitions and may force a climbdown. In a further major blow to Infantino’s plans, all 41 member nations of North American confederation Concacaf have confirmed they are rejecting the plans, though stopped short of a boycott. Fifa has yet to comment. “The Football Association of Ireland supports Uefa along with all member associations in rejecting Fifa’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the Fifa World Cup and other Fifa competitions to private investors,” read an FAI statement. “The association believes that decisions of this significance must be founded on strong governance, transparency and meaningful consultation. In solidarity with Uefa’s position, Ireland’s national teams will not participate in Fifa competitions while these proposals remain under consideration.”[ ‘This crosses a line’: Uefa furious at Fifa’s World Cup private investment planOpens in new window ]Ireland’s next involvement in Fifa competition is the 2027 women’s World Cup play-off against Kazakhstan on October 7th. It is understood that the FAI will continue preparations for the game as normal in the hope the dispute is resolved soon.