US Soccer have responded to CONCACAF’s decision to reject FIFA and Gianni Infantino’s plans to sell a minority stake in the World Cup.

One of the biggest scandals in the sport’s history has unfolded this week after Infantino’s proposal leaked and it’s been met with huge backlash. The FIFA President sent a letter to all 211 national member associations regarding a new commercial entity called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).

The idea involved selling a minority stake in the World Cup, with FIFA working with JPMorgan to raise $4.2 billion from private investors. Infantino fronted the scheme, and US President Donald Trump’s administration was reportedly approached about the deal.

USA Respond to CONCACAF Decision

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

UEFA were the first sporting body to strongly oppose Infantino’s proposal and a meeting has resulted in their nations threatening to boycott all FIFA competitions. That includes the 2030 World Cup, which is set to be co-hosted in Spain and Portugal.

CONCACAF likewise held a meeting with its member associations and released a statement responding to the plans. They have rejected the idea but haven’t mentioned a potential boycott.

The USA are a member of CONCACAF and they have confirmed that they back the decision, writing in response to the statement:

“U.S. Soccer stands with Concacaf and its members.”

Trump and Infantino have grown close since the World Cup was confirmed to be co-hosted in the United States, Mexico and Canada back in 2018. Their relationship has been called out by many in the sport, especially after FIFA opted to suspend Folarin Balogun’s one-game ban after receiving a contentious red card.

With Infantino’s relationship with Trump taking centre stage throughout this summer’s World Cup, there had been plenty of concerns over the president’s potential involvement in the FFE scheme. The plan is backed by Joshua Kushner’s investment fund and Kushner’s brother-in-law, Trump’s son-in-law.

Infantino Handed Huge Setback

REUTERS/Henry Romero

With US investors such as Thrive Capital and JPMorgan backing Infantino’s scheme, US Soccer’s statement is a major setback for the FIFA president. Not only have 96 national federations now opposed his proposal, but the country which has been the main focus for the private equity venture has pushed back.

The likes of CONCACAF and CONMEBOL usually align with FIFA on commercial expansion, so this is hugely significant. It puts a ton of pressure on Infantino, who has come under immense criticism before, during and following a controversial World Cup.

UEFA have reportedly been pushing for Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi to run against Infantino at the next election. It’s clear that he is losing the support not just in Europe but on a global scale.

It has been a turbulent summer for Newcastle United, who were hoping to quickly bounce back from a disappointing season that saw them miss out on European football. Eddie Howe was expecting to be backed in his bid to bounce back from the disappointing campaign, but this summer has not panned out that way.

Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon were sold, while Bruno Guimaraes now looks as though he will be sold to Arsenal, and it’s not certain the exits will end there. Eddie Howe has now left the club in the biggest blow of the summer so far for Newcastle, and Sky Sports say the reason for his departure is Howe feeling as though this coming season will be a huge challenge, not helped by the transfer activity. The experienced Premier League boss is said to feel ‘exhausted’ by his efforts over recent years, and the work required at St James’ Park this summer and beyond is going to prove too much. Relatively inexperienced Al-Ahli manager Matthias Jaissle is now expected to take over, and the first order of business could be to find a Guimaraes replacement.

Newcastle now pushing for Guimaraes replacement

It now looks increasingly likely that Guimaraes will sign for Arsenal on a £70million deal, meaning even more talent is on its way out of St James’ Park. But it appears as though the Magpies have a plan to replace the Brazilian, with a big outlay required to make it happen.

According to a fresh report, FC Porto star Victor Froholdt is the likely Guimaraes replacement, with the Danish midfielder having been a target of Newcastle’s in the past. Correio da Manhã have reported that the Magpies watched Froholdt a number of times last season and were left impressed, with now departed Howe said to have been a big fan.

It’s claimed Newcastle are considering Froholdt, along with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Larsson and Botafogo’s Danilo, who was previously with Nottingham Forest.

Newcastle will have to pay big for Froholdt

The report adds that Porto have already told Newcastle that they must pay around £73.6million to sign Froholdt this summer, which is the full value of the midfielder’s release clause. However, the report does go on to say a fee ‘close’ to the release clause, so there could be room to reduce that fee eve if it is only by a little.

Froholdt’s current contract runs until the summer of 2030. Porto bought the Dane for only £17.3million, so they are set to make a big profit this summer.

Meanwhile, Newcastle will bring in £70million for Guimaraes, and perhaps a little more with add-ons, while they have also pocketed £100million for Sandro Tonali, with around £92.5million of that expected to have been upfront.

England will be one of the nations to sit out the 2030 FIFA World Cup if Gianni Infantino proceeds with his plans to sell a minority stake in the international tournament.

Infantino’s hugely controversial proposal is part of a new commercial entity called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) and seeks to grant FIFA’s 211 national member associations tradable equity stakes. Working with American banking institution JPMorgan, they’d look to raise $4.2 billion from private investors.

UEFA responded to the idea by condemning Infantino’s approach and held an emergency meeting with its 55 member associations. They have rejected FIFA’s proposal and threatened to boycott all competitions held by the sporting body.

England to Boycott World Cup Again in 2030

REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Should Infantino proceed with his plans, it could mean no UEFA team competes at the World Cup in four years’ time. Spain and Portugal are two of the three main co-hosts but they could boycott the tournament.

As could England, who have publicly backed UEFA with a statement which reads: “We stand shoulder to shoulder with our European colleagues and fully support the collective view. We oppose FIFA’s plans. The FIFA World Cup belongs to football and always will.”

Infantino set all 211 nations a deadline of September 19th to respond to the proposal and UEFA took a day to not only refuse it but take significant action. Their national associations “will not participate in FIFA competitions” as the World Cup “cannot be treated as an investment product.”

The Telegraph delved into the meeting held by UEFA and revealed FA chairwoman Debbie Hewitt and chief executive Mark Bullingham were present. Both are said to have spoken out and Hewitt insisted she didn’t know anything of the FIFA leader’s plans before Tuesday despite being one of his vice-presidents.

Should England indeed boycott the 2030 World Cup it won’t be the first time they have snubbed participation. They opted against playing in the first three tournaments in 1930, 1934 and 1938, preferring to contest the Home Nations with Scotland, Wales and Ireland instead.

As for the last time the Three Lions were absent from a World Cup, that came in 1994 when they failed to qualify. As it stands, not only are Thomas Tuchel’s men not competing in the tournament, but won’t be attempting to qualify.

Four Other Countries Could Boycott World Cup Again

US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino via REUTERS/Lee Smith

England aren’t the only major international team to have boycotted a World Cup in the past. Aside from the other three home nations who all chose to stay home and face one another, five countries refused for different reasons.

Turkey would also be skipping the tournament again if Infantino doesn’t reconsider his proposal. They missed the 1950 World Cup due to finances after deciding it was too expensive to send ther team to South America.

CONMEBOL have yet to respond to the plans but two of their countries have declined entry in the past. Uruguay didn’t defend their crown as inaugural world champions in 1934 in protest after several European nations refused to travel for the event in 1930.

This year’s runners-up, Argentina, joined the Uruguayans in refusing to play at the 1938 World Cup when it was hosted in Europe rather than South America. And in 1950, India’s lack of participation caused debate as they claimed they didn’t believe the tournament was overly important, while reports claim that they were refused because their players played barefoot.

The USSR were disqualified from playing the second leg of their World Cup qualifier against Chile in November 1973. This was because the game was to be played at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile, after the CIA-backed military coup had overthrown socialist government of Salvador Allende.