UEFA VOTES TO BOYCOTT WORLD CUP AHEAD OF PRIVATE INVESTOR FUND

The core investor would be a US investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the brother of US President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner

US President Donald Trump (right) and Fifa president Gianni Infantino get ready to present the World Cup to Spain in New Jersey. Photo: dpa

Uefa member federations agreed on Thursday to boycott all Fifa competitions in protest of Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors.

“Uefa and its national associations will not participate in Fifa competitions,” the European football body said after an urgent online meeting of the 55 members.

“Some things are simply too important to sell,” Uefa said in a statement. “The Fifa World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.”

The strategy meeting was called to counter Fifa president Infantino’s offer of US$20 million to each of Fifa’s 211 global members that has to be accepted by mid-September.

Infantino’s secret proposal was revealed on Tuesday to spin off its commercial operations in a new US$20 billion subsidiary 20 per cent owned by private investors. The core investor would be a New York investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has presented the private equity offer as a chance to “turbocharge” funding development of football. Photo: Reuters

“This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of Fifa’s duty as the custodian of world football,” said Uefa, where Infantino was a long-time staffer and its CEO-like general secretary when he was first elected to lead Fifa in 2016.

- Associated Press

SEPP BLATTER BACKS CALLS FOR FANS TO AVOID US MATCHES AT 2026 WORLD CUP

• Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has backed calls urging fans to avoid travelling to the US for the 2026 World Cup, citing security and immigration concerns

• Blatter’s comments come amid wider debate over the 2026 World Cup after Donald Trump last year questioned ‘safety’ in several US host cities

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter attending an event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 28 April 2010 – Photo by Richard Juilliart

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has backed calls urging football fans to avoid travelling to the United States for matches at the 2026 World Cup, according to multiple media reports, citing concerns over security, immigration enforcement and the country’s political climate.

Blatter voiced his support for comments made by Swiss lawyer and anti-corruption expert Mark Pieth, who warned that fans should “stay away” from World Cup matches in the US. Pieth worked with FIFA on governance reforms during Blatter’s presidency

“I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup,” Blatter wrote in a social media post, endorsing Pieth’s advice to supporters.

The 2026 tournament will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July, with the majority of matches scheduled to take place in the US.

Pieth cited domestic developments in the United States, including aggressive immigration enforcement and recent deaths linked to clashes involving federal authorities, as reasons for discouraging travel. He warned that fans could face heightened scrutiny at US borders and risk being denied entry or deported if they fail to comply with officials, adding that supporters may be “better off watching on television.”

Concerns have intensified following the expansion of US travel bans affecting several countries whose national teams have qualified for the World Cup. Fans from Iran and Haiti are expected to be barred from entering the United States, while supporters from Senegal and the Ivory Coast face restrictions unless they already hold valid visas.

Concerns over safety have also entered the political debate, after US President Donald Trump suggested that World Cup matches could be moved away from host cities he considers “unsafe,” comments that drew criticism from local officials and organisers, according to separate reports.

Criticism has also emerged from within European football. Oke Göttlich, a vice-president of the German football federation, said the idea of a boycott should be “seriously considered.”

Blatter, who resigned as FIFA president in 2015 amid corruption investigations and was later acquitted alongside former UEFA chief Michel Platini, has remained a vocal critic of FIFA’s current leadership under Gianni Infantino. Infantino dismissed the concerns, insisting fans would continue to attend in large numbers.

- the macao news 

SPORTS MINISTER URGES SOUTH AFRICA TO BOYCOTT AFGHANISTAN MATCH

Champions Trophy cricket match between Pakistan and South Africa at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England, Monday, June 10, 2013.
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Copyright © africanews
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

South Africa's sports minister has joined public calls for the Proteas to boycott the Champions Trophy game against Afghanistan next month and criticised the International Cricket Council for not upholding its own rules.

Gayton McKenzie said on Thursday he felt “morally bound to support” a match boycott because the Taliban government has banned women's sports and disbanded the national women's cricket team.

"It is not for me as the sports minister to make the final decision on whether South Africa should honour cricketing fixtures against Afghanistan. If it was my decision, then it certainly would not happen,” McKenzie said in a statement.

“As a man who comes from a race that was not allowed equal access to sporting opportunities during apartheid, it would be hypocritical and immoral to look the other way today when the same is being done towards women anywhere in the world."

The Proteas are scheduled to play Afghanistan on Feb. 21 in a group match in Karachi, Pakistan.

England was also urged to forfeit its match against Afghanistan on Feb. 26 by more than 160 U.K. politicians on Monday.

McKenzie believed the ICC was also being hypocritical for not upholding its own mandates that member nations develop men's and women's cricket.

McKenzie noted Sri Lanka Cricket was suspended by the ICC from November 2023 to January 2024 for government interference.

“This does not happen in the case of Afghanistan, suggesting that political interference in the administration of sport is being tolerated there,” McKenzie said.

"Cricket South Africa, the federations of other countries and the ICC will have to think carefully about the message the sport of cricket wishes to send the world, and especially the women in sports.

“I hope that the consciences of all those involved in cricket, including the supporters, players and administrators, will take a firm stand in solidarity with the women of Afghanistan.”

- Rédaction Africanews with AP

MAN CITY'S RODRI: I CAN'T RESPECT REAL MADRID'S BALLON D'OR BOYCOTT

Manchester City's Rodri has said he can't respect Real Madrid's decision to boycott the Ballon d'Or ceremony in October after he received the award over Vinícius Júnior.

The midfielder was awarded with the individual prize after a stellar season that saw him pick up the Premier League trophy with City and the European Championship with Spain.

Rodri's stiffest competition was Vinícius, who refused to travel to Paris for the ceremony after learning he would not be taking home the award along with the rest of the Madrid squad and the club's executives.

"Well, it's a decision of individuals or clubs in general to decide what to do. I cannot respect the decision, I always said I wouldn't do it in the same way," Rodri said on "The Rest is Football" podcast.

"I remember last year that maybe Erling [Haaland] was close to winning it I wanted to be there with him to support with all the club and even though Leo [Lionel Messi] won it, we were there clapping him because Ballon d'Or is a recognition not for a player, it's for a year, for a level of a guy for a whole year."

Vinícius had been a top contender to win the men's prize after helping Madrid to a LaLiga and Champions League double last season, but neither he nor his fellow Madrid nominees -- eight in total across the various awards -- attended the event.

Manchester City's Rodri won the 2024 men's Ballon d'Or prize. Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images

Madrid were honoured as the men's team of the year and Carlo Ancelotti received the coach of the year award at the ceremony, though as no representatives of the club were present, no-one was on hand to accept the silverware.

"In sport and in life, it's important to win. But I think even more how to lose and I say always the same, it was my moment, I didn't want to speak about others," Rodri added.

"They didn't want to be there -- I want to be with my club, with my family, the people that were there and clapped me and that was a fantastic moment."

Prior to the ceremony, Rodri suffered an ACL injury during a Premier League clash with Arsenal that has seen the midfielder ruled out for the foreseeable future.

"My target is to come back this season," he said. "I think in terms of my mentality it's going to be positive for me to not give up the season and throw it. I don't want to run, you know, I don't want to make mistakes.

"But yeah, that's my mentality. I don't know when ... In my target is six, seven months, but the physios, they will dictate."

- ESPN