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31 July 2026

Uefa’s extraordinary threat to boycott the World Cup over Fifa’s plans to sell stakes in the tournament is a major development, but there is historical precedent for teams and continental governing bodies taking a stand against the competition.

European football’s governing body voted on Thursday to boycott future World Cups over controversial proposals put forward by Fifa president Gianni Infantino to sell stakes in football’s flagship event.

Uefa has been joined by Concacaf, the governing body for football in North and Central America and this year’s World Cup host confederation. It said its 41 member associations had "rejected" Infantino’s proposal, dealing another significant setback to the plans.

Although an organisation as influential as Uefa has not previously issued a direct threat of this kind, the history of the World Cup includes several instances of nations and governing bodies staying away from the tournament for geopolitical or football-related reasons.

Uruguay, winners of the first World Cup in 1930, declined to defend their title four years later in protest over the small number of European teams that had travelled to South America for that inaugural tournament.

In 1938, neighbouring Argentina joined them after having expected to stage the competition.

Turkey, Indonesia, Egypt and Sudan also refused to face Israel in Asian qualifying for the 1958 World Cup, with Wales eventually defeating the Israeli side in a one-off qualifier.

In October 1964, all 15 African teams withdrew from qualifying after the Confederation of African Football (Caf) considered it unfair that only one place had been allocated across Africa, Asia and Oceania combined, especially when 10 European nations qualified for the 1966 tournament.

Eight years later, the Soviet Union refused to play the second leg of a qualifying play-off in Santiago following the 1973 Chilean coup d’etat that brought Augusto Pinochet to power. A Chile XI did take the field at the Estadio Nacional, with captain Francisco Valdés carrying the ball into the net straight from kick-off before a 2-0 win was awarded.

Iran’s participation at this year’s World Cup had appeared uncertain after the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on the country in February. There were also broader calls for a boycott, largely linked to US immigration policies during Donald Trump’s presidency.