The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has announced that it plans to launch a new subsidiary to handle the commercial rights to FIFA's major men's and women's tournaments, including the World Cup and the Club World Cup. External investors will be given the opportunity to buy about 20 percent of the company.
“This is not baseball”
Criticism of the proposal is now pouring in from around the football world. The EU is making no secret of its disdain for the plan.
"This is not baseball. Enough is enough. The commercialization of football has become destructive. It threatens the very things that made football the world's most popular sport. Hands off our sport," writes EU Commissioner Glenn Micallef on X.
Minister of Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed, who is responsible for sports issues, is also critical of the proposal.
"The fact that FIFA is now considering selling off parts of the World Cup is offensive to millions of football fans. The way in which the proposal was intended to be vetted also appears undignified and foreign to our sporting tradition. Unfortunately, it damages an already damaged trust in a FIFA that is developing in the wrong direction," he says in a comment to TT.
The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) expresses strong concern about the plans in a press release.
"We are deeply concerned about the lack of a proper decision-making process. We share the disappointment of many in our region and within football that such detailed information has been produced and made public before any discussion has taken place with the relevant decision-making bodies and stakeholders."
Finland reconsiders Infantino support
Britain's newly elected Prime Minister Andy Burnham is furious on X.
"Let me say this very clearly. Football does not belong to the investors. It belongs to the people who fill the stands and who stand on the sidelines week after week, rain or shine. The World Cup is not a product, and it has never been anyone's to sell."
Ari Lahti, president of the Finnish Football Association, tells the STT news agency that in light of the proposal, Finland will reconsider its support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino and the extension of his term at its next meeting. The Football Association said in mid-July that it supports Infantino's continuation at the helm.
“FIFA's plan is difficult to understand and comes completely unexpectedly,” says Lahti.
