The European football union (UEFA) have threatened to withdraw from the World Cup after plans emerged that FIFA have reached an agreement to sell shares to private investors, among other things.
A preliminary agreement has already been signed, reported The Times, which claims that FIFA have confirmed the news. It could mean a revenue of 15 billion pounds for the international football federation.
According to The Times, the Swiss will likely pocket hundreds of millions as the arrangement involves him becoming the head of a newly formed company that will control the World Cup and handle the investment leg. A position he will take after his final term as FIFA president has expired.
The plan is designed so that all FIFA revenue from commercial rights, such as television contracts, sponsorship, tickets and the like – which are linked to the World Cup – will end up in the new company, which will therefore be partly owned by investors.
According to the proposal, FIFA will own a majority of the company, 20 to 30 percent will be available to private investors, while member nations will receive shares amounting to 20 percent.
All 211 member nations would be allocated a share that they could either keep or sell to raise money for their operations.
One of The Times’ sources described the proposal as an “atomic bomb for football”.
The plan has been developed in conjunction with US President Donald Trump’s administration, which “consulted” FIFA. The big bank JP Morgan is handling the process.
The news broke Tuesday and was quickly met with criticism. Among other things, from UEFA: “This is crossing a line that football’s governing bodies should never cross. UEFA takes this extremely seriously. So should every national football association. The same applies to all stakeholders: leagues, clubs, players, supporters, governments and everyone who cares about the future of football,” UEFA wrote in a statement.
“The soul and governance of football are not assets that can be bought and sold – especially not when there is a lack of complete transparency about who benefits financially from it. None of us own football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”
Infantino has confirmed that FIFA are exploring the possibility of expanding the next World Cup to 64 teams.
