MONACO — European soccer body UEFA is set to formally withdraw its threat to boycott FIFA competitions after receiving assurances Gianni Infantino’s failed World Cup sell-off 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 on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agenda of the closed-doors 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 Sept. 5 in Poland. France and Spain named their squads last week for the 24-nation tournament which risked becoming an unwanted battleground in European soccer’s pushback against Infantino’s private investor plan. England, Italy, Portugal and host Poland also will play. The United States, Brazil and Argentina also are in the lineup. 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.” Infantino infuriated soccer leaders worldwide last month when his plan for a $20 billion subsidiary controlling FIFA commercial rights including the World Cup was revealed by British daily The Times. The spinoff was to be 20 per cent owned by investors led by a New York fund created by Joshua Kushner, whose initial money was to pay offers of $20 million to each of FIFA’s 211 member federations. They were given a mid-September deadline to accept. The FIFA president dropped his proposal within four days amid a furious backlash led by UEFA, including the boycott threat, with support from the Asian Football Confederation and North American soccer body CONCACAF. The furor was fueled by criticism of the plan and of Infantino from senior FIFA officials. UEFA then said it wanted assurances the spinoff, to be called FIFA Forward Enterprise, would not be presented in a different form. That assurance was now received, the person told the AP. The European soccer body said Aug. 1 it had no confidence in Infantino’s leadership in a clear signal it would try to stop his reelection in March next year. The next set of FIFA competition games in Europe after the Under-20s event is qualifying playoffs for the 2027 Women’s World Cup scheduled Oct. 9-13. Qualifying games for the next men’s World Cup do not start until 2029. FIFA election timetable FIFA previously set a Nov. 18 deadline for candidates to enter the presidential contest, four months ahead of the vote by 211 member federations in Rabat, Morocco. Infantino had seemed sure to be reelected unopposed for a fourth and final term in office through 2031 until the turmoil created by his investor plan. The 55 UEFA member federations are attending the meeting in Monaco four weeks after they united in an online call to agree the threatened boycott. Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press
