‘No-one has clean hands’: Readers say football missed its wake-up call long before Fifa’s World Cup sell-off
Uefa’s threat to boycott the World Cup and all Fifa competitions has plunged world football into open conflict, after Gianni Infantino’s plans to sell stakes in the tournament to private investors provoked fury among the game’s biggest federations.
The Asian Football Confederation became the third body to reject the proposals on Friday, joining Uefa and Concacaf and warning that confidence in Fifa’s governance has been “undermined” – leaving Infantino’s plan in tatters ahead of a vote scheduled for 19 September.
For Independent readers, the row has become a lightning rod for something bigger: a fear that football is the latest institution being hollowed out by money, and reshaped in an American image in the process. Others want Uefa to go further still, using the moment to break away from Fifa altogether and build something less corrupt in its place.
Here’s what you had to say:
Beyond the reach of the working-class
Despite all this high finance power play and political skulduggery, the fact remains that a game invested in emotionally, almost uniquely, by working-class people since its inception is now well beyond their reach. Uefa has played a large part in this shift.
Money poisons every sport it touches
Once any sport or recreation is opened up to the greasy moneyed classes, the fundamental point of any pastime is poisoned. Whether that’s football, tennis or even chess, the outcome is always the same.
I seem to recall the English FA were one of the first, if not the first, to adopt the multi-million pound transfer and player payments structure, “to help the game”. That should have been a warning to fans and supporters.
Uefa’s statement is right, of course – unfortunately, though, neither side comes to this confrontation with clean hands, in my opinion.
This is about targeting developing nations, not Uefa
Infantino isn’t going to lose out here. He knows that Uefa are the most powerful FA in the world, but this proposal isn’t meant to appeal to Uefa. This is about the developing nations and the huge market potential of targeting the southern hemisphere and North America.
This could genuinely lead to a splintering in world football: Uefa upholding the tradition of the game, and the rest of the world under Fifa becoming an Americanised, watered-down version of it.
Driven by money
It seems clear to me that Fifa is and always has been driven by money. It’s in its DNA. So no compromise now – no boycott – Uefa should leave Fifa and suggest a new world organisation. Maybe the Association of Global FAs – AGFA – and basically start again.
This looks just like UK privatisation all over again
I don’t follow the football, but Infantino’s “proposal” seems to have a familiar ring to it. I remember when we were told that the privatisation of publicly owned assets in the UK would result in the unlocking of countless billions in investment that would be of benefit to us all. Instead we have poisoned rivers and intermittent water supply, a dysfunctional transport system and energy infrastructure so starved of investment that we have to pay all over again to bring it up to snuff.
This is not a difficult equation – having shareholders means that you are taking money out of an entity that could have been spent on making it better.
Welcome to Superbowl meets soccer
I reckon the game will have four quarters and each break full of adverts. The vocabulary would change. Going to games will just be for the very wealthy. Lots of celebs talking offence and defence. Kiss cams and look-a-like cams on big screens. In short, Superbowl meets soccer.
The upside for Europe: no Trump, or association to Trump. No Argentina. Better football. Better picks for the work or pub sweeps. We would, I’m sure, lament the loss of Brazil.
The real issue will be broadcasters and TV rights
The bigger issue would be TV rights. At the moment the World Cup is attractive to broadcasters because its global reach generates a global audience. One of the biggest markets, Europe, would disappear. Sponsors would also be less inclined to put money into the competition. I suspect there might be one tournament where they try the new format. We might also see the European Championship expanded if other associations boycott.
Uefa should build an alternative body
I hope Uefa is looking at the contingency of breaking away from Fifa to create an alternative body for world football. Why should Fifa have a monopoly if it is going to behave like this?
In any case, Uefa should hold an additional European Cup in the years of the World Cup while the boycott is in force. This is particularly important for the women’s teams next year.
American capitalism ruins most things it touches
American capitalism tends to ruin most things it touches. Needs a good bout of boycotting. Thanks Donald. Thanks America.
Soccer as a money machine
I’ve just caught a section of a BBC programme from America with a Republican strategist explaining that “soccer” is there to be exploited and Uefa is only making a fuss in order to grab more of the money.
So cynical, and a reflection of how some Americans view sport (just like Infantino) – that sport is entertainment (many Europeans follow the Shankly approach: “Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that”) and therefore a great big money machine.
It’s only a matter of time before Infantino backs down
On the one hand, one could argue that Infantino does not need Europe, and that is true if you look purely at the voting ratio. But what is Fifa worth without European countries? Uefa can easily support itself with the multi-million pound tournament called the Champions League. The only thing Fifa can contribute is a World Cup, which is held only once every four years. Just try selling that for a lot of money without the European teams…
But with this controversial proposal, he seems to have overplayed his hand. If he pushes it through, a World Cup awaits in 2030 without world champion Spain, notably one of the three host countries for the global final tournament in four years’ time.
Moreover, six of the eight quarter-finalists of the last World Cup came from Europe. The absence of those countries will drastically reduce the commercial value of the World Cup. Meanwhile, the Asian and North and Central American football associations have also indicated that they do not support the plans.
Under pressure from the European countries, it seems to be only a matter of time before Infantino pulls the plug on his “democratic process.”
Some of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.
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