What is Fifa up to now?<\/p>\n
A week after the World Cup finished, Fifa has yet to announce whether Argentina will be punished for the violence seen on the pitch at the end of the final. What it has been able to do, however, is devise an entirely new way of running international football, which \u2013 in the words of its president, Gianni Infantino<\/a> \u2013 \u201cis about the democratisation of football worldwide\u201d. It is also an idea to allow private investors to take a stake in Fifa\u2019s competitions and potentially make money from the World Cup.<\/p>\n So how will this idea work?<\/p>\n After reporting in the Times and the Financial Times broke the news on Tuesday afternoon, Fifa<\/a> published a lengthy statement extolling the new venture. To be known as Fifa Forward Enterprise, or FFE, the new body would sell all of Fifa\u2019s commercial rights \u2013 across broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing \u2013 and also take charge of \u201coperational delivery\u201d of Fifa tournaments. It would focus all Fifa\u2019s money-making endeavours in one place and the governing body would \u201cretain sole control of FFE\u201d, but it would also \u201cinvite third parties to make minority, non-controlling investments\u201d. These investors \u201cwould be selected against clear long-term, governance, and strategic criteria\u201d.<\/p>\n So Fifa is taking the people\u2019s game and selling it off?<\/p>\n Well, only a small \u201cnon\u2011controlling\u201d bit of it. But whose game is it anyway? And yes, Fifa confirmed to the Times that the proposed lead investor to take a stake in FFE would be Joshua Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared, but why should that matter? As Infantino pointed out on his 15-slide Instagram post<\/a> on Monday, Fifa has been \u201con the front lines organising, working hard, and delivering the best show in the world\u201d. Maybe give Fifa a break?<\/p>\n Fifa confirmed that the proposed lead investor to take a stake in FFE would be Joshua Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared. Photograph: Brendan McDermid\/ReutersWhat about Fifa\u2019s member associations? Surely they won\u2019t be happy to see money going out of the game?<\/p>\n Sources have told the Guardian that the FFE plans would not allow\u00a0investors to take dividends from the scheme (though the investors could later sell their stake). The governing body\u2019s messaging, meanwhile, is very much focused on the financial benefits the scheme would bring to its member associations. Fifa has promised that any external investment would deliver an \u201coptional\u201d $20m in extra funding\u00a0to any nation that wants it. It has also promised an increase in annual\u00a0disbursements and predicted a total of $10bn in extra funding would eventually be shared around. Fifa has said that a\u00a0majority of its 211 members must\u00a0express an interest in taking\u00a0the extra funding if the external investment is to be allowed. Many nations are already\u00a0dependent on Fifa in order\u00a0to run their operations, however, and this year Infantino\u00a0said that without the governing body \u201cthere would be no football in 150 countries in the\u00a0world\u201d. So he would seem likely to receive the necessary expressions of interest.<\/p>\n Infantino has previous in this regard, does he not?<\/p>\n Yes, he announced a deal with the Japanese investment management firm Softbank to fund the development of the Club World Cup in 2018 until a backlash brought it down. Reports in the Times suggested that that Infantino could become chief executive of the FFE once he leaves Fifa \u2013 he is poised to win an unprecedented fourth term<\/a> next year which would extend his stay until 2031. Fifa also insists that joint ventures are par for the course \u2013 Uefa has one such with the group known as European Football Clubs to sell the commercial rights to its competitions. Fifa said: \u201cMany major sporting organisations have restructured their commercial operations in similar ways in recent years in pursuit of the same long\u2011term goal \u2013 sustainable growth that can be reinvested in the sport itself.\u201d<\/p>\n So what happens now?<\/p>\n