Exclusive | UEFA to boycott World Cup over FIFA bosss $20B cash grab throwing global soccer into chaos: sources

UEFA, European soccer’s 55-member governing body, is set to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA-organized competitions in protest of a $20 billion Wall Street-style takeover of the global game, sources familiar with the matter told The Post.The boycott blueprint — set to be formally rubber-stamped Thursday during emergency talks hosted from Switzerland that start at 9am Eastern — would see European nations withdraw from “all FIFA competitions” organized by the Zurich-based nonprofit.Livid over Trump-loving FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s aggressive moves to commercialize global soccer, Europe’s soccer bosses are “very confident” they will secure “a landslide majority” of “more than 50 countries” to vote against his plans, according to insiders.One source said that “it could even be a clean sweep” despite the head of the Czech soccer association initially indicating he supported the privatization idea.If UEFA pulls the trigger Thursday, it will plunge FIFA into the darkest crisis of its 122-year history.A boycott means the 2030 World Cup goes on without global powerhouses like England, France, Spain, and Germany — nations that have won every World Cup but one since 2006.Without the continent’s biggest stars and deepest television markets, the World Cup is effectively crippled, meaning Infantino’s multibillion-dollar pitch to Wall Street could be dead on arrival.The boycott would includes the men’s and women’s World Cups, youth championships, and the expanded Club World Cup, a global playoff between the top franchises from each continent.However, European teams would continue playing in regional tournaments completely controlled by UEFA, such as the money-spinning Champions League and the European Championship.Infantino’s controversial scheme aims to bundle the World Cup’s massive broadcasting, ticketing, and sponsorship rights into a new private subsidiary dubbed FIFA Forward Enterprise.“He’s struggling to keep i...