If the standoff between UEFA and FIFA gets as far as a genuine boycott, the most immediate effects would be felt in the women’s game.
The Women’s World Cup next summer in Brazil is the next senior FIFA competition, with three of the top four sides in FIFA’s rankings — England, Germany and defending champion Spain — based in Europe.
Denmark, France and Spain have already qualified for that tournament, while playoffs to determine the rest of the spots will begin in October. It’s not entirely clear whether those playoffs would be covered by the boycott, though with FIFA president Gianni Infantino having demanded a vote on his proposal to allow private equity to buy into the World Cup by Sept. 19, perhaps the issue is moot.
More immediately pressing, though certainly not as big a competition, is that the women’s U-20 World Cup is set to begin in Poland on Sept. 5. If the issue remains unresolved, Poland — as a UEFA member — would certainly be unable to host, potentially resulting in the tournament’s cancellation.
That said, the threat of a boycott from UEFA, whose members account for a disproportionate amount of FIFA’s commercial revenue, is likely enough to kill Infantino’s plan. On top of that, CONCACAF, which represents 41 nations in North and Central America as well as the Caribbean, publicly stated its uniform opposition to the proposal after a meeting Thursday.
So this is now a game of brinkmanship, and one FIFA seems likely to lose. A women’s World Cup without so many top nations would do incredible damage to a sport that has grown so much recently, not to mention the long-term impact of canceling a U-20 World Cup, or going without European countries in the U-17 Women’s World Cup, which is set to take place in Morocco starting in October.
FIFA also depends on European clubs — UEFA members all — to play in the Women’s Champions Cup and the men’s Club World Cup, the second edition of which is on the calendar for 2029, albeit without a confirmed host. Further down the line, Spain and Portugal are two of three primary hosts for the 2030 men’s World Cup, along with Morocco.
Indeed, UEFA has the cards here. And so long as it is willing to play them, FIFA will be forced to choose between backing down or hitting the self-destruct button.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
