Uefa World Cup boycott may be raised over Fifa plan

Uefa World Cup boycott may be raised over Fifa planImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Aleksander Ceferin was appointed Uefa president in 2016BySimon StoneChief football news reporterPublished5 minutes agoCommentsUefa's 55 member associations will hold an emergency meeting later this week to discuss Fifa's controversial proposals to sell stakes in its major competitions.Football's world governing body has said it wants to create a new commercial subsidiary to run its main events, including the World Cup, and external investors will be able to buy stakes in it.That has prompted fears that too much influence in those competitions will be handed to private investors, although Fifa says it will enable more money to be distributed to football associations around the globe.European football's governing body took the remarkable step of issuing a response to Fifa's plans before they had been published on Tuesday, responding to initial reports in the Financial Times and the Times as it condemned the plans, saying they had "crossed a line".The meeting will be held virtually and offer the opportunity to work out a plan of action.Given the strength of feeling – the Football Association says it was not consulted before Fifa released its proposals shortly after Uefa's statement was made public – it would be a surprise if the possibility of a boycott was not at least raised.While Uefa knows it only accounts for a quarter of Fifa's 211-country membership, the body includes most of the world's most successful teams.Six of the eight quarter-finalists - and the winners, Spain - at this summer's World Cup were European. In the 2022 and 2018 editions the figures were five and six respectively.Uefa knows any competition Fifa puts together would be far less valuable if its members were not involved.Fifa's argument that it is compelled to look at proposals that would help it grow the game globally has led to fears that, in th...