Goa, July 31 -- European football's governing body, UEFA, has warned it will boycott all FIFA competitions, including the FIFA World Cup, unless the global football body abandons its proposal to sell a minority stake in the commercial rights to its tournaments to private investors.

The decision, backed unanimously by UEFA's 55 member associations, represents one of the most serious confrontations between UEFA and FIFA in decades. If neither side backs down, the dispute could create a major divide in world football, potentially affecting the future of FIFA's flagship tournaments.

At the centre of the controversy is FIFA president Gianni Infantino's proposal to establish a new commercial entity known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). The ...