GENEVA (AP) — European nations agreed Thursday to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions to protest Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in soccer’s biggest tournament to private equity investors.
Infantino’s secret project was revealed Tuesday to spin off its commercial operations in a new $20 billion subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) 20% owned by private investors. The core investor would be a New York investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Infantino wrote Tuesday to the 211 members — already the effective owners of FIFA as a non-profit association under Swiss law — that if they approve FFE their promised $10 million basic funding for the next four years will double to $20 million. He projected their FIFA funding through 2038 would be $86 million each, instead of about $36 million.
“This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA’s duty as the custodian of world football,” said UEFA, where Infantino was a long-time staffer and its CEO-like general secretary when he was first elected to lead FIFA in 2016.
Infantino’s secret project was revealed Tuesday to spin off its commercial operations in a new $20 billion subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) 20% owned by private investors. The core investor would be a New York investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Well, that explains why trump won’t shut up about soccer…
He’s the only US president to have actually played it, on his military school’s team.
Trump? Military?
He was packed off there after several behavioural issues. The last straw was when his father caught him with dozens of flick-knives in his room, after he saw West Side Story and got obsessed.
Trump? The orange taco? Shipped off to military? Whoa
Military school. It’s like a boarding school with a strict discipline theme. Not the actual military.
But I’m sure that to him it’s like he served in Vietnam. Surely he deserves a medal of honour for his service aat that military school?
Ah neat. Well doesn’t seem to have done the job.
In an unprecedented sign of actually having a spine, I might add.
Agreed! Rarer to see these days
I’d argue, A-bot unprecedented, apparently the same threat was made when infantino previously argued for World Cup every two years, and B- slightly self interested, as it would reduce the relevance of European Cup and League of Nations
On your point B Concacaf is also saying they’ll boycott so really no one likes this idea.
Yeah the time to boycott FIFA was years ago, after the human rights abuses and corruption scandals. Way to have a spine now, I guess. Feeling like this is just an empty threat.
It is pretty impressive when you are able to compete with Trump about being the most openly corrupt person in the world.
Lmao. Europeans wouldnt even boycott a slave built world cup in quatar.
Yeah, but now it’s about money.
Anyway, I hope they kill FIFA and start something with a bit more accountability.
It’s about time to create a new world cup anyway, without fifa.
Oh, come on.
Europe loved that world cup, even when Trump cheated openly.
All these people shitting on us here in America… And then this happens?
Do you all realize we’re in this together yet? For many, I think the answer is “no”.
To those who know… Welcome, my friends. We shall end this. We are the only ones who matter here. You, me, and the others who never saw the people as the problem.
Power to the people.
So what exactly are you arguing against here?
Europeans are boycotting plans that would clearly be bad for all soccer fans around the world. Shouldn’t they do that just because they participated in the World Cups in Qatar and North America? As if to say: Since you didn’t protest back then, it doesn’t matter now… let the despots of this world have their way!
Of course it’s hypocritical, but that doesn’t change the fact that, as it happens, this time they’re also acting in the interest of the majority.
Europe did not love the latest World Cup. They complained heavily about all of it, from the commercial breaks to the bad officiating to the ticket prices to the handling of visas to the transportation to the stadiums. The Trump cheating thing was just the cherry on top of a banana split made from turds.
