CONCACAF Joins UEFA in Boycotting Infantino and FIFA

FIFA President Gianni Infantino's plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to a private investment fund suffered another significant blow on Thursday. CONCACAF, the North American football confederation, joined its European counterpart UEFA in rejecting the proposal.

UEFA had previously stated that its 55 member nations would boycott all FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, if the proposal remained active. This decision would mean leading footballing nations such as Germany, France, England, and reigning world champions Spain would not participate in men's and women's World Cups.

Following its own meeting later in the day, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), which boasts 41 members, also announced its rejection of the proposal. CONCACAF's members include the 2026 World Cup hosts – the USA, Canada, and Mexico. The U.S. Soccer Federation posted on social media that it "stands with CONCACAF and its members."

Earlier this week, Infantino unveiled plans to sell a stake in "FIFA Forward Enterprises" (FFE), which would raise $20 billion in exchange for influence over future World Cups, including television and commercial deals related to the tournament. The initiative is reportedly funded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law to former U.S. President Donald Trump.

This marks another attempt by Infantino to align himself with individuals in Trump's orbit: through the creation of a FIFA peace prize, allowing Trump to intervene in a process that led to American striker Folarin Balogun's participation in the World Cup, and now by attempting to tie Joshua Kushner's investment firm to a 12-year ownership deal with the Switzerland-based non-profit football organization.

The proposal would see over $80 million paid to each of FIFA's 211 member associations between now and 2037. Infantino had set a September 19 deadline for associations to accept the plan, with a majority required for its implementation.

After a virtual meeting of UEFA's 55 member associations, where ESPN sources reported that over 50 associations spoke and expressed unanimous anger at Infantino's proposals, the European football governing body agreed to boycott all future FIFA competitions until the sale plan is abandoned.

Following its meeting on Thursday, CONCACAF stated that its 41 members "expressed deep concerns about the lack of due process surrounding the proposal, the artificially short imposed deadline, and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governing bodies."

The Confederation added that its members on the FIFA Council would be tasked with "engaging FIFA to determine how FIFA's existing vast reserves can be utilized to increase funding for the FIFA Forward program for football development in our region," as well as to "instruct the FIFA President to ensure that every matter follows proper governance processes through FIFA staff and the Council, in accordance with the FIFA Statutes."

Infantino's financial gamble could now jeopardize his previously secure 11-year FIFA presidency, as anger and frustration with him grow among football stakeholders, including three of the six continental confederations. FIFA has set a November 18 deadline for potential candidates to declare for the presidential elections of the 211 members, scheduled for next March in Rabat, Morocco.