UEFA Prepares to Drop FIFA Boycott Threat Following Abandoned World Cup Selloff Plan

European football body UEFA is set to formally withdraw its threat to boycott FIFA competitions after receiving assurances that FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s failed World Cup selloff plan will not be revived.

UEFA’s member federations are meeting Thursday in Monaco ahead of the Champions League draw, where they are expected to end the boycott threat, a person familiar with the proposal told The Associated Press news agency on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agenda of the closed-door meeting was confidential.

Ruling out a boycott will clear six European teams to continue preparing for the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup that kicks off September 5 in Poland. France and Spain named their squads last week for the 24-nation tournament that risked becoming an unwanted battleground in European football’s pushback against Infantino’s private investor plan. England, Italy, Portugal and host Poland also will play, alongside the United States, Brazil and Argentina.

FIFA welcomed the update from UEFA in a statement, adding it "strongly believes that football has the power to unite, even in challenging circumstances, and looks forward to welcoming all teams and players to Poland".

FIFA President Infantino infuriated football leaders worldwide last month when his plan for a $20bn subsidiary controlling FIFA commercial rights – including the World Cup – was revealed by British daily The Times. The spinoff was to be 20 percent owned by investors led by a New York fund created by Joshua Kushner, whose initial money was to pay offers of $20m to each of FIFA’s 211 member federations. Joshua Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

FIFA President Infantino dropped his proposal within four days amid a furious backlash led by UEFA, including the boycott threat, with support from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). UEFA then said it wanted assurances the spinoff, to be called FIFA Forward Enterprise, would not be presented in a different form, which the person told the AP has now been received.

The European football body previously stated on August 1 that it had no confidence in Infantino’s leadership, signaling an effort to stop his re-election in March next year. The 55 UEFA member federations are attending the meeting in Monaco four weeks after uniting in an online call to agree to the threatened boycott.