NewzFifa’s plans to sell a share of the World Cup’s commercial rights are the latest in a long line of presidential power movesIn 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.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has written to all 211 member associations saying they will receive $40m (£30m) if they back his controversial plan to sell off stakes in its major competitions. Infantino has set a deadline of 19 September for football federations to accept his plans if they want to access an initial $20m (£15m). Football’s world governing body has said it wants to create a commercial subsidiary to run its main events, including the World Cup, and external investors will be able to buy stakes in it.
The incentive to nations comes less than 24 hours after the bombshell statement rocked football’s foundations, quickly leading to condemnation from Europe, Asia and North America. It is understood Infantino even left some of Fifa’s eight vice-presidents in the dark about his plan, which it is claimed could raise $10bn (£7.52bn). Infantino has signed a five-page letter, seen by the BBC, outlining the merits of his proposal.
The letter states if member associations respond positively by the deadline, $20m will be “available immediately” from 1 January 2027. Fifa confirms the money will come from “liquidating a minority portion” of its stake on Fifa Forward Enterprise, a subsidiary company set up to maximise commercial revenue that will include private investors. Although Fifa suggested Infantino gave a broad outline of his proposal at a council meeting just before the World Cup final earlier this month, others who were present rejected this strongly.
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