FIFA explores new commercial rights model amid UEFA criticism

FIFA’s president wants to create a $20 billion commercial subsidiary to sell a 20% minority stake in the World Cup and other major tournament revenues to private equity investors.

The FIFA president's bid to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors sparked an unprecedented backlash, threatening his grip on power ahead of next year's election.

Critics of Gianni Infantino's FIFA Forward Enterprise spotted what they believed to be clear indications that this new venture would be a plan rife for corruption.

Fifa’s plans to sell a share of the World Cup’s commercial rights are the latest in a long line of presidential power moves In hindsight, it was all in the open from the very off. When Gianni Infantino was first elected as president of Fifa in 2016 it was something of a shock victory and prompted hope for progress after the dark days of Sepp Blatter. Infantino had promised to restore “the image of Fifa”, but also anticipated that “everyone in the world will applaud us”. He promised accountability and transparency, but the core message to his electorate was to expect a “very significant increase” in funding. Just as a side note, there were also mutterings about him spending too much time on private jets. Back then, Infantino was described as being a typical Swiss bureaucrat, but no one would make that comparison now. Leaders within football instead prefer comments such as “he thinks he’s running a nation state”. This description feels particularly pertinent in the week Fifa announced without consultation plans to sell a share of the World Cup’s commercial rights to outside investors. But Infantino’s desire to grow both professional football and the revenues it creates has always been central to his pitch. The longer his time as president has gone on, the more wedded to this vision he has been. Continue reading...

BBC Sport why Fifa President Gianni Infantino feels powerful enough to sell off stakes in the World Cup - and what the consequences could be.

BBC Sport explores why Fifa president Gianni Infantino feels powerful enough to sell off stakes in the World Cup - and what the consequences could be.

European football has shown an increased willingness to talk tough with Fifa but words can only be wielded so many times • FA joins criticism of Fifa plan to sell off World Cup stakes As the World Cup neared its conclusion one leading figure in European football pondered how Gianni Infantino might attempt to rinse away the damaging stain of the Folarin Balogun scandal. It all came down to money. “He will just announce more funds for everyone,” was the gist, although the tournament passed without any explanation of how Fifa would carve up its record $15bn (£11.2bn) haul. That was the tip of the iceberg. Infantino’s plan to sell chunks of the World Cup to private investors, announced nine days after the final, has sent shockwaves around the sport and left senior personnel scrambling. There is little time for a coordinated response given Fifa, at the height of what passes for football’s holiday period, has given FAs until 19 September to decide whether to accept the initial $20m (£15m) payment that would effectively count as endorsement of the new scheme. Continue reading...

Gianni Infantino is under fire from Uefa over plans to sell off commercial rights for the tournament but he says they are ‘about the democratisation of football worldwide’ A week after the World Cup finished, Fifa has yet to announce whether Argentina will be punished for the violence seen on the pitch at the end of the final. What it has been able to do, however, is devise an entirely new way of running international football, which – in the words of its president, Gianni Infantino – “is about the democratisation of football worldwide”. It is also an idea to allow private investors take a stake in Fifa’s competitions and potentially make money from the World Cup. Continue reading...