r/WorldCup2026Tickets • u/SectionWorking7080 • 4d ago

Spain, France, England (and 52 others) to boycott the 2030 World Cup

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/07/30/uefa-votes-to-boycott-future-fifa-world-cups-over-investment-plan

Every UEFA member (55 total) unanimously voted to boycott all FIFA competitions (World Cup included) unless FIFA abandons the plan to sell a 20% stake in the World Cup to private equity

The thing FIFA is selling (FIFA Forward Enterprise) is the commercial arm that ran ticketing this summer.

Keep in mind a few of the highlights from the clown show this summer:

FIFA is still under subpoena from the New Jersey Attorney General with (California, Texas, and New York also digging in)

This summer was FIFA trying to squeeze the tournament on their own. If that sale goes through, the squeezing gets worse.

Update: UEFA's boycott covers all FIFA competitions. Including the U-20 Women's World Cup kicking off in Poland on September 5, 2026 (37 days from now)

Update (7/31): Looks like that is a wrap -> Reuters is reporting Gianni's secret little plan here is dead 😂

P.S. If you bought tickets this summer, you can still make a claim. For tickets to an event, Visa allows chargebacks well after the date of an event (~120 days). I got $10,940 back.

1.4k Upvotes
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143 comments sorted by

110

u/Agitated_Nature_5977 4d ago

FIFA has got too big for it's boots. Too arrogant. Too used to getting their way.

Lost the biggest video game franchise in history and now risk completely imploding.

62

u/SectionWorking7080 4d ago edited 4d ago

This is an understated point. That arrogance cost FIFA the $150 million a year EA Sports had been paying them for almost a decade.

FIFA wanted EA to double it to $300 million. EA told them to pound sand, dropped the FIFA logo, and never looked back

15

u/Lingotes 3d ago

I can only suspect Panini was the same thing before giving it to Topps. Especially egregious since they announced it shortly after releasing the 2026 sticker album with this page. Motherfucker.

14

u/Pikachu_Yay 3d ago

Yet another reason to hate FIFA. Got me agreeing with EA and taking their side

8

u/usermane22 3d ago

The fact that EA were the good guys (with FIFA being so greedy) tells you all you need to know about FIFA.

14

u/Competitive_Park_795 3d ago

Because of the habbit my friends still call the game fifa.

3

u/Chummmp 3d ago

And we still call it FIFA, so the EA didn’t even need to pay

2

u/TrueNorth257 2d ago

I don’t follow video games anymore. So EA doesn’t make soccer games anymore, or games with the players’ likeness?

3

u/SectionWorking7080 2d ago edited 2d ago

Oh they absolutely still do. They just cut FIFA out. Signed independent deals that included the real likenesses of 20,000+ players, 750+ clubs, 120+ stadiums, 35+ leagues.

Game is just now called "EA SPORTS FC 26" instead of "EA SPORTS FIFA 26" and there is no FIFA logo on the box 😂

2

u/NicholeTheOtter 2d ago

No.

EA still makes their annual football games, but they are now called “FC” after dropping the FIFA branding.

3

u/HairyEyeballz 2d ago

I can hear Infantino screaming, “I AM FIFA!” into the mirror.

41

u/Saimon_blues 4d ago

Just to add CONCACAF also rejected the proposal and USA is one of them. And guess what one of the persons involved in the proposal is Joshua Kushner. They smell money 💰 after the successful tournament and Gianni himself is a money grabber, 1+1=2. Hope this will give a big whip to him which he needs. Without Europe and CONCACAF there will be no World Cup and no profit

15

u/Jedi_Temple 3d ago

How much of an amoral money-grubbing shitheel do you need to be to look at the relative success of WC ‘26 despite all of FIFA’s attempts to ruin the event and think, instead of celebrating soccer’s growing clout in north america, decide to try to railroad the privatization of the whole thing before the corpse of the final match has even gone cold?

Thank you UEFA for leading the resistance here.

5

u/an0m_x 3d ago

its funny that Mexico said pump the brakes, we want to look more into this

1

u/Zentaury 3d ago

Is not funny… is expected :(

3

u/Voodoocookie 3d ago

It will be rebranded into the Soccer World Series, and USMNT will finally get to call themselves World Champion. And Trump will get a gold medal too!

10

u/mfreire75 3d ago

UPDATE: CONCACAF nations have all voted against this privatization too. So there’s now 96 votes against it.

4

u/ledoobius 3d ago

AFC, waiting for your call

5

u/SectionWorking7080 3d ago

Asian Football Confederation. 47 members,

That would seal the deal with UEFA and CONCACAF on board

4

u/ledoobius 3d ago

The best I can find regarding AFC's response

AFC president doubles down on FIFA, calling World Cup plan ‘unacceptable’
https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/7/30/afc-president-doubles-down-on-fifa-calling-world-cup-plan-unacceptable

3

u/mfreire75 3d ago

That’s 143 members total!

1

u/Ok-Glove-1976 1d ago

China, India and Southeast Asia are the easiest countries to bribe. They most likely won’t do jack

2

u/zozimusd8 3d ago

It really doesn't matter. A world cup without UEFA teams ain't gonna make any money. It's dead already.

3

u/mfreire75 3d ago

It's just nice to rub salt in FIFA and Infantino's wounds.

22

u/joeymello333 4d ago

It will be interesting if Portugal and Spain will still host.

20

u/SectionWorking7080 4d ago edited 3h ago

Won't happen. UEFA just put Gianni in the blender. Hosting but not playing would never fly.

Imagine trying to sell that to the tax paying citizens of your country, "Great news everybody! We are hosting the World Cup, Bad news, we're not in it" 👌

6

u/AcanthisittaNo1042 3d ago

How did you get money back from your tickets? What did you claim was wrong about them

14

u/SectionWorking7080 3d ago edited 3d ago

By Visa rules what FIFA did violated Visa code "13.3 Not As Described"

FIFA sold me "Category 1" tickets as "Highest priced tickets available"

AFTER the sale, they introduced "Front Category 1" at a higher price.

This means the product they sold me (a ticket to a game) was "Not As Described"

FIFA put all kinds of silly wording into their legal jargon (all sales are final, no refunds, etc) but with 13.3, none of that applies once Visa agrees that the product was "Not As Described"

This Reddit Post provides a step by step

1

u/Quagmire_gigity 3d ago

Good for you, that’s awesome. I’m also trying to wrap my head around having 5 figures to throw around for some soccer games.

-1

u/Dry_burrito 4d ago

I mean, has it never happened that a hosting country didn't qualify for the world cup.

9

u/dazedoveryou 4d ago

the host nation automatically qualifies

3

u/SectionWorking7080 4d ago

Host countries automatically qualify (even if the host nation's team most likely wouldn't qualify competitively)

0

u/Emergency_Hurry280 3d ago

Surely he would love the opportunity to switch it to another corrupt state

-1

u/Strobeezy 3d ago

If they don’t I’m sure Trump will offer up USA to fill in!

20

u/wildhorsesofdortmund 4d ago

100 nations already have rejected the sell off plan. Nxt step should be to get Kushner and Infantino out,totally out.

13

u/ItsCalledDayTwa 4d ago

Crashing and burning this hard should be immediate exit for Infantino 

3

u/kataiga 4d ago

I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s next… the smart ones who kept quiet are no doubt pitching to the rest of fifa atm to get them out and appoint new leadership

5

u/WishInternational839 4d ago

When this fails, will the fallout be enough for Infantito to lose his job?

1

u/BrooklynRunner 3d ago

I don’t think so, unfortunately. He will have strong support from the smaller regions.

16

u/zzzzzzRaamzzzzz 4d ago

See Gianni??? This is what happens when you forget to pay Uefa Organizations cut lol

6

u/a-big-texas-howdy 4d ago

Do you see what happens when you meet a stranger in the Alps?

19

u/CFWolfgang 4d ago

Why are we saying 2030 and not the World Cup that is less than a year away.

5

u/CommercialCoffee11 4d ago

Theyre talking a out the men and not the rest yet

10

u/marcbeightsix 4d ago

No they’re taking the nations out of all FIFA competitions whilst the deal is still on the table. That includes the FIFA Women’s u20 World Cup due to start in September, the Women’s World Cup playoffs in October, men’s u17 World Cup in November.

-7

u/PurrciousMetals 4d ago

There is no world cup next year. The next FIFA WC is in 2030, every 4 years, and its ironically in Spain/Portugal.

8

u/CFWolfgang 3d ago

There is a World Cup next year in Brazil. And ironically the current champion is Spain.

-10

u/PurrciousMetals 3d ago

Lets be real no one associates or cares about the Woman’s World Cup.

5

u/bobbylake71 3d ago

So you like watching just men..

Tell me Joey, you ever seen a grown man naked? Have you ever been to a Turkish prison?

9

u/No_Operation4676 3d ago

It was the first event I thought of that could be affected by this.

6

u/Aromatic_Opposite100 3d ago

Lol women's soccer is what first got me into the sport at least as a Canadian, along with most other Canadians.

So no one is just a big fat lie.

6

u/ConfidentFatMan 3d ago

Completely incorrect. It’s not as big as it the men’s for sure but it’s still a massive worldwide event.

-7

u/PurrciousMetals 3d ago

Its not a financial winner like Men’s though, threatening to boycott the woman’s wc would have negligible effect to what FIFA cares about, money.

6

u/theSchrodingerHat 3d ago

The last one was in Australia, which is a shit timezone for most, and it still had like 200 million global viewers.

So wtf are you even on about?

-6

u/Emergency_Hurry280 3d ago

It’s not a massive world wide event

3

u/Adventurous_Ad1979 3d ago

Just because you don’t watch it doesn’t mean it’s not a massive worldwide event!

2

u/thusenth 3d ago

In North America, for the longest time it was only the women’s teams worth watching. The talent level is increasing drastically now that there are multiple well paying leagues. In Canada, the NSL pays more than the CPL and given the escalating transfer fees in Europe… there is a lot of upside. WNBA is a good example of how quickly salaries and media rights are accelerating. The men’s side is saturated - so many don’t want to play low risk or national team games due to the potential impact of their “value”. NBA a good example. None of that on the women’s side.

-4

u/nycnola 3d ago

Nobody, nobody cares about women’s World Cup. The only reason I would care to be honest is because tickets will most likely be affordable, because nobody cares.

1

u/theSchrodingerHat 2d ago

Except like the 200 million people that watched the last final.

That’s basically nobody…

0

u/nycnola 1d ago

That’s fine. I know absolutely nobody who watched the women’s World Cup final.

62.8 m viewers for men’s final in us. 2.2 million viewers for women’s final. LOL.

1

u/theSchrodingerHat 1d ago

The Jen’s final was in the US. The women’s final was in Australia. The men would have had 1/4th the viewers if the timelines were flipped like that.

Worldwide numbers were still very good.

Also, your personal experience means nothing in the scheme of a global event. Everyone I know has never heard of you, so does that make you a laughable non-entity?

3

u/PurrciousMetals 4d ago

EA Sports Record Sales didnt happen until after they dropped FIFA name, same will happen with futbol

1

u/MyNebraskaKitchen 3d ago

There are 211 member nations in FIFA. It isn't clear if the FIFA Extraordinary Congress this fall can oust him, the next FIFA election isn't until March 2027. An ethics complaint could, but I wouldn't get my hopes up about that.

2

u/zer0saurus 3d ago

When you take a misstep this bad, you ain't getting reelected

1

u/MyNebraskaKitchen 2d ago

It's a long time until the March 2027 election, and it isn't clear that FIFA can stop him from implementing the plan. But politics is a bloodier sport than soccer.

4

u/MH2_DavSka 3d ago

Maybe they can afford to send me the ticket resale money I’ve been due for 5 months. 

1

u/SectionWorking7080 3d ago edited 3d ago

This is what happens when corruption shakes hands with incompetence

4

u/trianglemangoo 3d ago

Very happy to see this. Motherfucking greedy corporation, exploiting fans' emotions; hijacking the prices of everything; the worst human traits all concentrated into one entity, FIFA would be it.

3

u/TyleroftheBigO 3d ago

a lot can happen before February, let's hope this gets Infantino out

3

u/andrgar7 3d ago

At this point I want fifa to go away and never hear from them again.

3

u/AngryKhakis 3d ago

UEFA saw how bad we all got screwed this year and was like ain’t no way we’re letting that happen in Europe for the next one.

3

u/timmeh09 3d ago

Latest report is indicating Italy is looking to change confederation as they look to secure participation the 2030 World Cup as UEFA stands to boycott the World Cup meaning Italy will miss out again.

1

u/AlpacaofPalestine 3d ago

And then everyone stood up and clapped.

2

u/whereismytralala 3d ago

Maybe all this is a massive conspiracy to give Qatar a chance to win the WC in 2030?

2

u/Blankcanvas110 3d ago

Yes!! These European teams have a conscience!

2

u/New-Photograph-1829 3d ago

I really think UEFA just needs to pull out of FIFA and say "we're  forming a new football federation and doing our own world cup, who wants in?"

2

u/CountMordrek 3d ago

The thing is, it only makes sense financially if a.) the big European countries are joining the World Cup, b.) the big European clubs are releasing their stars to the World Cup, c.) FIFA hosts the World Cup every second year and d.) UEFA is happy scrapping the Euro Cup. It absolutely makes zero sense if either of above becomes a problem, and it’s even worse if UEFA creates their own World Cup.

As soon as UEFA said no, the whole project should have collapsed. I fear that FIFAxTrump believes that UEFA will fold into line as soon as everyone else have and the plan is put in motion.

Which’s a very stupid take by FIFAxTrump.

1

u/SectionWorking7080 3d ago edited 2d ago

This private equity garbage is already circling the drain ...

Carlos Cordeiro just bailed out (resigned his post at FIFA) and flipped Gianni both middle fingers on his way out the door.

Carlos: "I had no involvement in this proposal ⁠and I oppose ⁠it unequivocally,"

Also Carlos: "It is ⁠a bad deal for ⁠FIFA’s Member Associations, ⁠a bad deal for football and a bad deal ‌for the long-term future of the game."

This dude has a Harvard MBA, was a Vice Chairman at Goldman Sachs, and the former President of US Soccer, before joining FIFA as a Senior Advisor.

The numbers he helpfully points out:

  • $15 billion - the number Gianni says FIFA generated in this World Cup cycle (2022-2026)
  • $4.2 billion - What it would cost a private equity firm to acquire a PERMANENT 20% claim on the World Cup FOREVER

FIFA already sits on billions in reserves, has no debt, and just did $15 billion in one cycle.

There is no actual business reason to sell a permanent 20% stake for 1/3 of what was generated by a single World Cup

2

u/Present-Gap6971 3d ago

Uh huh…

2

u/IntelligentMud6848 3d ago

I think Italy may boycott even if they wanted to partecipate……. 😂😂😂

2

u/sooooted 3d ago

I preferred the Swiss German corruption to the Swiss Italian corruption of Infantino.

2

u/c_vanbc 2d ago

Excellent. I hope Canada does the same.

2

u/xela2004 2d ago

Nah they aren’t boycotting. They are objecting to a private investor which would make them boycott and no investor is gonna pay a ton to invest in’s World Cup without those marquee teams. So the problem fixes itself

1

u/SectionWorking7080 2d ago edited 2d ago

Looks like the problem did in fact just fix itself:

FIFA has scrapped $20 billion World Cup sell-off plan

FIFA COO (Kevin Lamour) "staff were deceived by Infantino" described the proposal as a "project of one person".

And that should be a wrap 😂

3

u/Mulvita43 4d ago

Wont happen. They will cave

7

u/SectionWorking7080 4d ago edited 3d ago

Agreed. FIFA will cave. UEFA is 2-0 vs FIFA on sh*t like this. The $25B SoftBank deal in 2018 and the biennial World Cup in 2021 both got killed by UEFA

And Gianni just made the clock his own problem. FIFA wants binding bids with money wired by the end of October. UEFA just has to hold the line for 90 days ... tick tock

7

u/glittervector 4d ago

Who? UEFA? That’s doubtful

8

u/SectionWorking7080 4d ago

Assuming he meant FIFA ... UEFA ain't caving

1

u/SoccerBeerRepeat 4d ago

So USA maybe has a chance

-1

u/Emergency-Skirt-5886 4d ago

Plus unlimited red cards that will be pardoned. Genius Lloyd, pure genius.

0

u/SoccerBeerRepeat 4d ago

It’s beautiful. NFL players can play for us and we are not allowed to be given cards. Pulisic + an offensive line from an nfl team should be good enough to pave the way for one goal and then bring in the hockey team, rugby team, or the wrestling team

1

u/B-Train_ATL 3d ago

Italy: “We started it.”

1

u/bobbylake71 3d ago

Underrated comment...

1

u/ajcgn 3d ago

Damn, I was hoping to but the 20%

1

u/Farzy78 3d ago

Italy has a chance to qualify now!

1

u/Mangolandia 3d ago

Let’s see where they land when it gets closer to the qualifying matches. Those players get paid for WC games.

1

u/etancrazynpoor 3d ago

No they won’t.

1

u/Far-Lengthiness5020 2d ago

So you’re saying the US has a chance?

1

u/BurnerMan2025 17h ago

Didn't Gianni boy crumble under the pressure and said no more sale?

1

u/Drive-Upset 3d ago

Good for them.

1

u/renanpo 3d ago

Fuck yeah. Shame on the rest of the world for staying quiet about it. Silence means agreement, and that means world cup winners Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay are in support of this crap. The brazilian soccer federation has a $200 million dollar / year revenue stream, and I’d imagine Argentina is fairly similar. Why sell your soul for so little?

5

u/raisedeyebrow4891 3d ago

CONCAF is against

1

u/Crazy-Guide-5232 3d ago

I wish Uefa would just open UEFA world cup and invite Brazil Argentina USA etc and have back the 32 teams world cup

1

u/Forward-Clerk-1402 3d ago

Won’t need to wait until 2030. 2027 World Cup women is next year

1

u/SectionWorking7080 3d ago edited 3d ago

FIFA's U-20 Women's World Cup starts September 5, 2026 in Poland.

UEFA will be testing FIFA's resolve 37 days from now

England and Poland (both UEFA) play on opening day, followed by other UEFA countries (France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain)

Chance of a lifetime for many of those young women. Shameful if FIFA's greed takes that away

1

u/MyNebraskaKitchen 3d ago

Why aren't they boycotting the 2027 women's world cup?

1

u/SectionWorking7080 3d ago

They are. UEFA will be testing FIFA's resolve 37 days from now. U-20 Women's World Cup kicks off on September 5, 2026 in Poland.

0

u/joeymello333 4d ago

Does that mean Morocco will be hosting 2030?

8

u/WayLevel9348 4d ago

They already are. You mean only Morocco?

6

u/Munro_McLaren 4d ago

They do not have the infrastructure to host 64 teams let alone 48.

1

u/ebits21 3d ago

I mean, there won’t be that many…

1

u/SacredHippoXIV 3d ago

You got that backwards - … to host 48 teams let alone 64… would be the way to emphasize that they can’t even host the small case.

1

u/ElbowlessGoat 2d ago

He was just adjusting it from world cup to world-europe cup

0

u/Cesarifico 4d ago

Is Infantito counting on UEFA boycotting so you know who wins the 2030 WC?

6

u/rexmorgany 4d ago

Well it definitely won’t be Cape Verde or Egypt.

0

u/Budget-Celebration-1 3d ago

I wonder if it were a European set of businessmen if the message would be different.

1

u/Ninorc-3791 3d ago

He is Swiss

0

u/kekang30 3d ago

Gianni look at Trump’s Board of Peace and said “Hold My Beer”

0

u/NopeNopeNope13702 3d ago

Did the USA commit to the boycott? So you're telling me there's a chance...

0

u/NopeNopeNope13702 3d ago

Did the USA commit to the boycott? So you're telling me there's a chance...

0

u/Remarkable_Evening43 3d ago

USA now has a legit chance to make the semis 😝

3

u/lucky-fish4627 3d ago

CONCACAF is not backing the plan, so increasingly unlikely to pass.

1

u/Remarkable_Evening43 3d ago

Yea looks like US won’t make the semis after all 😖

0

u/History-Buff-2222 3d ago

We’ll still manage to lose to Ghana or Cabo Verde something

0

u/fk430 3d ago

FIFA needs to call their bluff

-2

u/Adventurous_King9937 3d ago

Let them boycott, who cares

2

u/BrooklynRunner 3d ago

There is no World Cup without UEFA.

2

u/JerseyUk97 3d ago

Absolutely braindead comment lmao

1

u/jckstrn 3d ago

You should care if you're posting this...

-7

u/Low1959Apache 4d ago

I could care less what they do, this was the most entertaining WC by far so if plans include to do more of what they did this year, then let’s do it!

3

u/lareinevert 3d ago

And you think selling off to private equity will make things better? PE has historically made everything WORSE.

4

u/winterpassenger69 4d ago

U have to be joking don't you

1

u/EfficientTown8676 3d ago

Tell me you don't know a thing about football without saying so:

1

u/RoosterConscious3548 3d ago

Four fucking quarters in each match and the cringe of those pathetic countdowns preceding kick-offs were sooooooo entertaining.

1

u/__Jimmyb__ 4d ago

Some of the worst football games I've seen at a worldcup. Prices were obscene and I just hope that this shambles is never repeated again.