{"id":4670,"date":"2026-08-01T05:09:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T05:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=4670"},"modified":"2026-08-01T05:09:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T05:09:58","slug":"european-nations-have-won-more-than-half-of-all-world-cups-now-theyre-threatening-to-boycott-the-next-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=4670","title":{"rendered":"European nations have won more than half of all World Cups. Now they\u2019re threatening to boycott the next one"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Now Infantino wants more. FIFA is reportedly studying whether to expand the 2030 World Cup from 48 to 64 teams. The vehicle is a plan called FIFA Forward Enterprise, announced nine days after that record-setting tournament closed, and it\u2019s why the European contingent, which has won more World Cups than any other confederation, is now threatening to sit out the next one.<\/p>\n

Read more Warsh considering reducing number of Fed meetings, NYT reports<\/a><\/p>\n

That revenue arrived with the costs falling largely on someone else. As Fortune has reported, FIFA\u2019s contracts assigned security, transportation and stadium retrofits to host cities, while keeping the revenue from tickets, sponsorship and media for itself.<\/p>\n

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European teams have won more than half (13) of the 23 men\u2019s World Cups played since 1930. Europe has taken four of the last five titles and seven of the last ten, including this summer\u2019s, when Spain beat Argentina in the final. Those teams currently hold six of FIFA\u2019s top 10 men\u2019s world rankings, and made up six of the eight quarterfinalists and three of the four semifinalists at this year\u2019s tournament.<\/p>\n

So when FIFA restructured the World Cup this year\u2014assigning security, transportation and stadium retrofits to host cities, while keeping the revenue from tickets, sponsorship and media for itself\u2014a good portion of that huge profit went back to FIFA, and the costs often fell on someone else, like this year\u2019s 16 host cities.<\/p>\n

FIFA revealed the FFE proposal on July 28: A commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion that would stay under FIFA\u2019s control while selling minority stakes to outside investors, raising up to $4.2 billion and paying each of FIFA\u2019s 211 member associations up to $40 million. Thrive Capital, founded by Jared Kushner\u2019s brother Joshua, is expected to lead the investor group. <\/p>\n

FIFA set September 19 as the deadline for members to accept the deal, which needs 75% support to pass. Initially, Infantino offered $20 million per association to accept the deal, but then doubled it to $40 million the next day after backlash began. This is particularly noteworthy given many of the 211 member associations rely on FIFA funding in the first place: the $40 million is a pretty penny to balk at. <\/p>\n

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Many of FIFA\u2019s 211 member associations depend on FIFA funding just to keep running: smaller federations often use FIFA Forward money to cover basic costs like coaching programs, youth development and administrative overhead. Against that backdrop, Infantino\u2019s initial $20 million offer, then doubled to $40 million within a single day of the backlash beginning, isn\u2019t a nice-to-have. For federations already leaning on FIFA\u2019s support, it\u2019s the kind of money that\u2019s difficult to walk away from on principle alone.<\/p>\n

That revenue arrived with the costs falling largely on someone else. As Fortune has reported, FIFA\u2019s contracts assigned security, transportation and stadium retrofits to host cities, while keeping the revenue from tickets, sponsorship and media for itself.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump orders Iran attack as soon as this weekend, WSJ says<\/a><\/p>\n

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That\u2019s exactly what critics say makes the structure look less like a genuine consultation and more like leverage. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is Europe\u2019s official governing body for soccer in the continent, and manages 55 national member associations while running major sporting tournaments of its own. UEFA has called the arrangement \u201cgovernance by intimidation\u201d rather than a legitimate vote, saying FIFA didn\u2019t just propose a plan and ask members to weigh in; it attached a large, time-limited payment to a September 19 deadline, effectively pressuring cash-strapped federations to sign on before they\u2019ve had time to fully assess what they\u2019d be trading away. <\/p>\n

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As a result, UEFA said its members will boycott the men\u2019s and women\u2019s World Cup unless FIFA drops the plan, calling it \u201cnot merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA\u2019s duty as the custodian of world football.\u201d <\/p>\n

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\u201cSo long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n

The backlash hasn\u2019t stopped there. CONCACAF, or the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, one of FIFA\u2019s six continental governing bodies for association football, called it a \u201clack of due process.\u201d The Asian Football Confederation said it was \u201cdisappointed\u201d it hadn\u2019t been consulted, and the EU\u2019s sport commissioner, Glenn Micallef, posted: \u201cHands off our game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plan cost Infantino an ally too: per CNN, senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro resigned, calling it \u201ca bad deal for FIFA\u2019s Member Associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game.\u201d <\/p>\n

Infantino defended the plan as \u201can opportunity but not an obligation.\u201d FIFA itself said \u201cnobody is selling football\u201d and blamed \u201cerroneous reporting\u201d for the uproar. <\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a familiar move for Thrive. The firm built much of Kushner\u2019s fortune on an early, concentrated bet on OpenAI, investing first at a $29 billion valuation, then at $86 billion, then roughly $1 billion more at $150 billion as OpenAI\u2019s value climbed toward $500 billion. Kushner is known for his concentrated bets rather than spreading capital thin. The FFE proposal extends that same approach from a fast-growing startup to global soccer\u2019s flagship event.<\/p>\n

Read more Mark Cuban\u2019s cofounder once told him: \u2018We don\u2019t get as much done because people are afraid of you\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UEFA nations have won 13 of 23 World Cups, but they’re threatening a walkout after the sport’s most profitable tournament yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nEuropean nations have won more than half of all World Cups. 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