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Europe's 55 Nations Refuse to Enter World Cup

curiousJul 31, 2026·295 words·3 min read

Europe's football federations have told FIFA (the International Federation of Association Football) that they will stay away from its tournaments. UEFA (the Union of European Football Associations) speaks for 55 national associations, and on Thursday every one of them backed the same boycott: no European team will enter a FIFA competition while the World Cup is up for sale.

FIFA says it would still make every important decision. Europe does not accept this. It says that once investors own part of the competition, money will always come first. European officials are also angry because FIFA did not ask them first. FIFA president Gianni Infantino gave all 211 members until 19 September to decide.

Infantino needs 106 countries to agree, and about 90 are already against him. Europe used the same threat in 2021, and FIFA dropped its plan then. A women's Under-20 World Cup starts in Poland in September with six European teams.

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