Recently, FIFA President Gianni Infantino pushed for the establishment of a subsidiary, "FIFA Forward Enterprise," with the aim of bringing in private investors and selling commercial stakes in flagship events such as the FIFA World Cup. 

This unilateral move has drawn strong reactions and close scrutiny from football confederations and member associations around the world. Earlier, Sky Sports chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol published a column revealing more details from Thursday's emergency UEFA meeting and providing a comprehensive analysis of the incident.

UEFA announced on Thursday that it would boycott all FIFA competitions until President Infantino's plan to sell stakes in the FIFA World Cup is completely terminated. The decision was made after an emergency meeting of UEFA's 55 member associations and could have a disruptive impact on world football and Infantino's plans.

During this two-hour online emergency meeting of UEFA members, everyone present openly opposed Infantino's sale plan, including FA Chair and FIFA Vice-President Debbie Hewitt, and FA CEO Mark Bullingham. All 55 UEFA associations voted in favor of this action, including the football associations of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland.

Several associations have issued separate statements of support. The FA stated: "We stand shoulder to shoulder with our European colleagues and fully support this collective resolution. We oppose FIFA's plans. The FIFA World Cup belongs to football and always will."

Adding insult to injury for Infantino, CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) also rejected the proposal. It likewise convened a meeting of its 41 member associations and expressed "deep concern" in a statement, noting that "no review or approval of this plan has taken place by the relevant FIFA governance bodies."

The statement also listed a series of action points against Infantino's plan but did not mention a boycott plan similar to UEFA's. Nevertheless, this is the first time a continental confederation has announced a boycott of FIFA competitions.

Why did UEFA take this action?

This amounts to a clear signal from UEFA to Infantino: "Enough is enough. We will not let you do this. Even if you think you have enough votes to push through these controversial proposals, if you insist, we will not participate in any future FIFA competitions."

The next major event is the Women's FIFA World Cup in Brazil next summer and, as things stand, no European nations will participate. The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, and European nations will also not participate then. UEFA's move is intended to show internal unity and demonstrate its complete and utter opposition to Infantino's proposal to sell stakes in the FIFA World Cup.

If the conflict between UEFA and FIFA escalates into a serious schism—which I don't think it will—UEFA might even entertain the idea: "We're already doing a fantastic job running the Champions League and the European Championship, so why not create our own 'FIFA World Cup' and invite top teams from Argentina, Brazil, Africa, and Asia?"

Could this stop Infantino's plan?

The answer is yes. If I were an investor looking to acquire a 20% stake in FIFA competitions, why would I invest in an event without European teams? Look at the recently concluded FIFA World Cup: six European teams reached the quarterfinals, three reached the semifinals, and a European team ultimately won.

Without strong teams like Spain, France, England, Italy, and Germany, who would invest in Infantino's crazy plan? This proposal is dead in the water. We don't know what Infantino will do next; he is currently hiding in his "ivory tower" in Zurich, giving interviews to his subordinates and trying to drum up support for this project.

But if I were an investor, seeing the news of UEFA's response, I would certainly think: "Perhaps I should look for a different investment because Infantino cannot deliver on his promises."

What happens next?

First, Infantino must provide a reasonable explanation. Potential investors and bankers will question him about his failure to secure European support; members of the FIFA Council, confederations, and national football association heads will also demand to know why he secretly conspired to sell stakes in the FIFA World Cup. As for the boycott, the first test for UEFA and FA teams will come in October – during the Women's FIFA World Cup playoffs.

During the October international break, England will play Greece, while 15 other playoff matches take place simultaneously. Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland will also participate in the first round of playoffs. These two-legged ties will be held on October 9th and 13th, with the winners advancing to the second round in November-December.

The situation is currently similar for the U20 Women's FIFA World Cup, but for European countries, the timing of the event is terrible. The tournament is scheduled to open in Poland on September 5th and conclude on September 27th. Poland, England, France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain have all qualified.

What are the positions of the other confederations?

There are six continental confederations in world football, and it is clear that UEFA is strongly opposed to the plan and will do everything in its power to stop it.

CONCACAF, which governs football in North and Central America, is also known to oppose it. It issued a statement on Wednesday expressing "deep concern and disappointment over the secrecy surrounding this matter," and further condemned it after Thursday's meeting. The AFC, which has always been a strong supporter of Infantino, also stated: "We are equally deeply concerned about why we were not consulted beforehand?"

It is evident that Infantino is losing the support of various confederations, but I believe that among the 211 national associations worldwide, many will still say: "Infantino has quadrupled the funds we receive from FIFA, and now he says we will receive an additional $20 million (approximately £14.9 million) next January, and three times the current funding in the future." But even if they support him, it will not help; without UEFA and European teams, a real FIFA World Cup cannot be held.

“Infantino is more disliked than Blatter.”

One thing I don’t understand about Infantino is this: why does he insist on making himself a controversial figure?

He is already the most powerful person in world football as FIFA President. The recently concluded FIFA World Cup was hailed by them as "the best FIFA World Cup ever," and he should be at the peak of his power and widely admired. Yet the reality is that he is more disliked than Sepp Blatter (the former FIFA President). Now, some in world football are even starting to miss the days when Blatter was FIFA President.

What exactly is he doing? Why associate with the Trump family? Why sell stakes in the FIFA World Cup? Can't he simply do his job properly and manage world football well? He insists on being a controversial figure, acting like a president, an oligarch, or a politician – but ultimately, he is just the "custodian" of world football.