European clubs threatened Club World Cup boycott over FIFA sell-off plan

European clubs threatened to pull out of future editions of the FIFA Club World Cup unless president Gianni Infantino scrapped his FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, according to a report published on August 15 by The Guardian and cited by Anadolu Agency. The threat was issued hours before Infantino withdrew the controversial plan in late July amid a wider revolt across world football.aa

The EFC Ultimatum

In a July 31 letter to FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom, the European Football Clubs (EFC) warned that its member clubs would not participate in any future Club World Cup — including the women's and men's 2028 and 2029 editions — unless FIFA agreed to establish a joint FIFA-EFC venture with "exclusive authority" over commercial and operational matters before broadcasting rights for the 2028 Women's Club World Cup are sold. A European boycott would effectively prevent the Club World Cup from taking place, given European clubs' central role in the competition.aa

The FFE proposal, announced on July 28, envisioned a $20 billion commercial subsidiary managing broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing, and licensing rights for FIFA competitions, with private investors acquiring approximately 20% of the entity.aljazeera+1

Wider Revolt Against Infantino

The EFC ultimatum added to mounting pressure from confederations. UEFA's 55 member nations voted unanimously to boycott all FIFA competitions over the plan, while CONCACAF rejected it outright and the Asian Football Confederation expressed "deep concern". Though Infantino withdrew the FFE proposal, UEFA said conditions had not been met to lift its boycott threat, with the body demanding assurances that "such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again".npr+4

Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the recently completed World Cup, defended Infantino, calling his critics "jealous" and attributing the backlash to politics.aljazeera

Political Interference Concerns

Speaking at the European Athletics Championships on August 14, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe warned sports bodies to resist political interference — remarks that came amid scrutiny of Infantino's relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump. Coe said the key was "keeping the politicians on the bus, but not letting them anywhere near the steering wheel". Among the proposed FFE investors was Joshua Kushner, brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.sports.yahoo+2