MONACO (AP) — European soccer body UEFA is set to formally withdraw its threat to boycott FIFA competitions after receiving assurances Gianni Infantino’s failed World Cup sell-off plan will not be revived.
UEFA’s member federations are meeting Thursday in Monaco ahead of the Champions League draw, where they are expected to end the boycott threat, a person familiar with the proposal told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the closed-doors meeting.
Ruling out a boycott will clear six European teams to continue preparing for the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup that kicks off Sept. 5 in Poland.
France and Spain named their squads last week for the 24-nation tournament which risked becoming an unwanted battleground in European soccer’s pushback against Infantino’s private investor plan. England, Italy, Portugal and host Poland also will play.
Infantino infuriated soccer leaders worldwide last month when his plan for a $20 billion subsidiary controlling FIFA commercial rights including the World Cup was revealed by British daily The Times. The spinoff was to be 20% owned by investors led by a New York fund created by Joshua Kushner.
The FIFA president dropped his proposal within four days amid a furious backlash led by UEFA, including the boycott threat, with support from the Asian Football Confederation and North American soccer body CONCACAF. The furor was fueled by criticism of the plan and Infantino from senior FIFA officials.
UEFA then said it wanted assurances the spinoff, to be called FIFA Forward Enterprise, would not be presented in a different form. That assurance was now received, the person told the AP.
The European soccer body said Aug. 1 it had no confidence in Infantino’s leadership in a clear signal it would try to stop his reelection in March next year.
FIFA previously set a Nov. 18 deadline for candidates to enter the presidential contest, four months ahead of the vote by 211 member federations in Rabat, Morocco.
Infantino had seemed sure to be reelected unopposed for a fourth and final term in office through 2031 until the turmoil created by his investor plan.
The 55 UEFA member federations are attending the meeting in Monaco four weeks after they united in an online call to agree the threatened boycott.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, Sunday Aug. 23, 2026. (Teresa Suarez/Pool Photo via AP)
BUÑOL, Spain (AP) — Thousands of revelers — including many lured by a Bollywood film — descended on a small Spanish town on Wednesday for the annual La Tomatina food fight, where they painted Buñol red with tons of overripe tomatoes.
Loaded trucks plodded through the crowd with people in their cargo beds throwing tomatoes at the revelers — who, in turn, hurled them at one another. Their white shirts soon turned pink and red while pop songs blasted from speakers. At one point, police appeared to use pepper spray to disperse an area of the crowd, but a festive vibe quickly resumed.
The messy melee took place for over an hour in the town, where buildings were covered with tarps ahead of the festivities. Held on the last Wednesday of August, the festival traces its origins to a food fight in 1945.
La Tomatina became an annual tradition before Spanish dictator Gen. Francisco Franco banned it in the 1950s. Televised media attention in the 1980s helped turn the festival into a national event, and eventually, an international attraction.
More than 20,000 people had been expected to take part this year, with the Spanish news agency EFE reporting this week that roughly 40% of participants over the past three years have been tourists from outside Spain.
There has been a notable jump in visitors from India in recent years, following the 2011 Bollywood movie “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” (“You Only Live Once”), in which three friends take a road-trip through Spain during an extended bachelor party. The film recreated La Tomatina, introducing the festival to many Indians.
The movie is what first drew Romail Khokhar, a 27-year-old from Mumbai, to Buñol. He was there on Wednesday morning, eager to participate in the food fight for his third time.
Mazhar and Sanya Khan, both 40, were likewise inspired by the film.
“It was fantastic, absolutely well-managed," said Mazhar Khan. “We are from India, and this is our first time being in La Tomatina. It has been a dream for over a decade.”
The movie's appeal isn't limited to Indians. It also drew Joanna Wytrzyszczewska from Poland.
“Way more crazy than we expected," said Wytrzyszczewska, 32. "We came because we were inspired by a movie. It was better than the movie.”
Similar tomato-flinging events have taken place in Florida, London, Amsterdam, the Colombian town of Sutamarchán and Hyderabad, India.
Non-local attendees pay 15 euros ($17.50) for a ticket. The first and only rule: Squash your tomatoes before hurling them to avoid injuries. Still, many participants don swimming goggles and earplugs for protection.
Once the hour was up, the sound of a cannon blast marked the end of festivities and crowds washed off at communal showers nearby. The town's streets were later hosed down.
Though stains on clothes can be permanent, the tomatoes' citric acid acts as a cleaning agent, often leaving Buñol’s streets cleaner than before.
Naishadham reported from Madrid.
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers cheer ahead of the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers from India pose for a picture ahead of the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
A reveler dressed in a tomato costume poses for a picture before the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers Vigu, left, and Megha from India pose for a picture ahead of the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers ahead of the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
