“FIFA has insisted ‘nobody is selling football’ after criticism of its decision to launch a consultation on selling stakes in a World Cup commercial entity to private investors. The world governing body of football stopped short of saying it would be withdrawing the plan and instead reaffirmed its commitment to press ahead with the consultation period. It comes as the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) joined the European confederation UEFA and Concacaf, the confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean, in rejecting FIFA’s notion of selling stakes in the World Cup. The Athleticreported FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s future leadership of the organisation was questioned during the meetings of UEFA and Concacaf on Thursday. UEFA and Concacaf released statements rejecting the plans following their respective meetings, with UEFA announcing that all 55 European members would boycott all FIFA competitions unless the proposals were abandoned. The AFC, Concacaf and UEFA make up 137 of the 211 FIFA member associations. …”
NYT/ATH (Video)
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Are FIFA and UEFA in a forever war?
“For an insight into the one-upmanship between FIFA, the governing body of football worldwide, and UEFA, its European counterpart, let us begin with an anecdote about the prize money for last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup. A pet project of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, he described the newly expanded 32-team tournament, held in the United States, as the ‘most coveted’ trophy in club football. According to multiple people briefed on FIFA’s planning for the competition, who wished to remain anonymous to protect relationships, Infantino was determined to make a splash and, in FIFA-land, nothing makes a splash quite like dollar signs. Infantino wanted the winner of the Club World Cup to earn even more than the winner of the UEFA Champions League, to show it really was a bigger deal than UEFA’s prized asset, and to be able to unveil a figure that immediately captured the world’s attention. …”
NYT/ATH (Video)
YouTube: ‘A bad deal for football’: Senior FIFA adviser resigns over World Cup investment proposal
Carlos Cordeiro had worked at FIFA since 2021.
“Fifa’s justification for its proposed plans to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors is about giving the 211 member associations more money to develop football. It’s safe to say that in the past, funds have done more developing in some places than in others, with millions either going missing or not being used for their original purpose and 
Scissors Kick 