The European body ended its rejection of the competitions of the world entity after it was assured that private shares of the World Cup would not be resold
UEFA decided to end the boycott it had against FIFA competitions The measure was finalized after receiving sufficient guarantees regarding the failed attempt to sell private shares promoted by the president of the global entity, Gianni Infantino
According to the British newspaper The Times, European leaders obtained a commitment that this project to distort the sport will never be carried out In this way, the conflict that had generated strong tensions between both organizations was resolved
The top officials of UEFA will meet this Thursday in Monaco There they will communicate the decision to the 55 federations that make up the continental body The meeting will serve to formalize the end of the boycott and detail the terms of the guarantees received
To lift the measure, UEFA had set two specific conditions The first was the definitive withdrawal of the initiative to privatize the World Cup, something that FIFA already did at the end of July due to the widespread rejection that the proposal generated The second required a formal commitment that a similar situation would not be repeated in the future
Ceferin's stance and Infantino's future
Despite this progress, UEFA is expected to maintain its opposition to Infantino This week, the president of the European body, Aleksander Ceferin, insisted that the FIFA president should resign from his position
Ceferin believes, first of all, that Infantino should understand that he does not have sufficient support He is not only referring to the political backing of those with voting rights but also to that of the football community in general, including fans, players, former players, and coaches
The other possibility that the Slovenian leader contemplates is that Infantino decides to run for election in March In that scenario, Ceferin believes he will have a candidate against him, although he still does not know who that rival might be
On the other hand, the president of UEFA flatly rejected the idea, apparently held by Infantino and FIFA, that the European body acts in the interest of some of the most powerful federations and clubs in the world Ceferin denied that interpretation and defended UEFA's institutional role
A conflict that strained world football
The attempt to sell private shares of the World Cup generated widespread rejection The proposal, promoted from the top of FIFA, was interpreted by several football actors as a threat to the essence of the sport and its governance model
UEFA responded with a boycott of competitions organized by the global entity, a pressure measure aimed at stopping any progress in that direction Now, with the guarantees received and the formal withdrawal of the plan, the continental body considers that the minimum conditions have been met to normalize the relationship
