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It will bring in outside investors, open the doors to global money, enrich a handful of inside executives and, perhaps most outrageously of all, might even involve the Trump family. The plans by Fifa, the governing body that controls the World Cup, to sell a stake in the competition, have drawn predictably condemnation, not least from the British Prime Minister Andy Burnham. But hold on. This is getting ridiculous. Football has become the preeminent global sport precisely because it has been so successfully commercialised – and it is too late to change that now.
The argument that football ‘belongs’ to the fans is even odder. It is like saying Nestle belongs to me because I happen to like KitKats
The plans to sell a stake in Fifa are more complex than the offside rule as reviewed by VAR. But it boils down to a proposal by Fifa president Gianni Infantino to create a new subsidiary, called Fifa Forward Enterprise, that will control broadcasting, sponsorship and tickets for the World Cup, and to bring in outside investors to help develop the tournament, as well, of course, as sharing some of the revenue it generates. Britain’s Football Association has condemned the plan, so have football associations from around the word, as well as many leading politicians. ‘Football does not belong to investors,’ argued Burnham. ‘It belongs to the people.’ No one has asked Gary Lineker what he thinks yet. But it is probably safe to say he will be against it.
