UEFA Maintains World Cup Boycott Threat Despite Infantino's Apology Over Failed FIFA Commercial Plan

UEFA has insisted that its member associations could still boycott FIFA competitions, including the FIFA World Cup, despite FIFA President Gianni Infantino apologising over his failed attempt to sell stakes in the tournament's commercial rights.

The warning comes just a day after FIFA's senior leadership met in Rabat, Morocco, where the governing body acknowledged that "mistakes were made" in handling the controversial proposal and reaffirmed its confidence in Infantino's leadership.

In a statement issued on Thursday, UEFA said the conditions it had set for withdrawing its boycott threat had not been fulfilled. According to the European football governing body, FIFA has failed to guarantee that similar commercial proposals will not be pursued in the future and has not done enough to restore trust in its leadership.

"UEFA's associations were very clear about the conditions attached to the non-participation in FIFA competitions. These conditions have not been met," the organisation said.

UEFA further stressed that it still lacks confidence in Infantino's presidency, arguing that FIFA's public show of support for its president does little to address the broader governance concerns raised by the abandoned World Cup commercialisation plan.

Pressure on Infantino has continued to grow, with global players' union FIFPRO accusing him of "a profound abuse of presidential power." The English Football Association has also withdrawn its backing for his re-election, while Amnesty International has called for sweeping governance reforms within FIFA.

FIFA, however, said it hopes the Morocco summit will help rebuild trust after shelving the proposal, which sought to generate revenue by transferring part of the World Cup's commercial interests to a new subsidiary. The organisation pledged that similar mistakes would not be repeated.

The proposal had already been rejected by Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation before FIFA formally abandoned the plan. Although senior FIFA officials, including Arsène Wenger and Secretary General Mattias Grafström, had initially distanced themselves from the proposal, Grafström later joined other top officials in reaffirming support for Infantino.