Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Exclusive by Nick Ames

Europe’s top clubs threatened Club World Cup boycott before Fifa plan collapsed

The EFC’s chair, Nasser al-Khelaifi, and the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, holding an EFC pennant
Nasser al-Khelaifi (right), chair of European Football Clubs, and the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, pictured together in 2025. Photograph: Fabrizio Corradetti/AP

Europe’s leading clubs threatened not to participate in future Club World Cups unless Gianni Infantino withdrew his Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme, issuing their ultimatum hours before the plan was scrapped.

In a letter to the Fifa secretary general, Mattias Grafström, the influential European Football Clubs (EFC) group warned that its cooperation with future tournaments would hinge on Infantino backing down. It said the threat would hold unless a joint venture between EFC and Fifa – a framework for which has already been agreed – is completed before television rights can be sold for the 2028 Women’s Club World Cup.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.