UEFA to boycott FIFA tournaments if World Cup sell-off goes ahead

UEFA will boycott FIFA tournaments if Gianni Infantino goes ahead with his proposal to sell off a stake in the World Cup.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of all UEFA's 55 member associations on Thursday afternoon.

The boycott should effectively kill off Infantino's proposal as investors would be unlikely to put money into tournaments without European teams.

The first major tournament UEFA can boycott is the 2027 Women's World Cup, which starts on June 24 next year.

More to follow...

What happens to Infantino if plans collapse?

Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol:

"It's shocking how nothing is shocking any more. I should be surprised but I'm not surprised at all. I've just come back from the World Cup. According to FIFA, it was the most successful World Cup ever. They made more money than they know what to do with. Fans were paying outrageous prices for tickets.

"Gianni Infantino and those close to him have looked at this and said, 'this is the future'. One way to make sure you have more tournaments like the one you've just had is to set up a subsidiary of FIFA that will look after FIFA's tournaments and to invite private investors to invest in that company.

"In the short term, there's going to be a big pot of money potentially available for the 211 member associations of FIFA.

"The big question is, are they going to accept what Infantino is proposing? What happens to Infantino if these plans collapse? Are we seeing a tipping point on the horizon where a lot of people in football are saying they don't like the way Infantino has been running football?

"I think there is such a groundswell of opposition to these plans that if I had to put money on it, I think they won't succeed. It reminds me of what happened to the European Super League where plans came out, there was outrage and pretty quickly the plans didn't come to fruition.

"Infantino knows everyone has got a price. FIFA have written to all 211 member associations and have said you have until September 19 to accept this plan. If you do, there is going to be a pot of £7.5bn for us to share. If you don't, that pot will drop from £7.5bn to £2bn.

"How many of these member associations are going to turn down that money?"