Олон улсын хөлбөмбөгийн холбоо (ФИФА) Дэлхийн аваргын арилжааны эрхийн тодорхой хэсгийг хувийн хөрөнгө оруулагчдад худалдах саналаасаа татгалзахгүй гэдгээ мэдэгдэж, зөвлөлдөх үйл явцыг үргэлжлүүлэхээ баталлаа.
ФИФА-гийн Ерөнхийлөгч Жанни Инфантиногийн санаачилсан “FIFA Forward Enterprises” (FFE) байгууллага нь Дэлхийн аваргын арилжааны үйл ажиллагааг удирдах бөгөөд тус компанийн 21 хувийг гадны хөрөнгө оруулагчдад 20 тэрбум ам.доллароор үнэлэн худалдахыг зорьж байна. ФИФА уг төлөвлөгөөгөө хөлбөмбөгийг худалдаж буй хэрэг биш, харин гишүүн холбоодын арилжааны боломжийг нэмэгдүүлэх алхам хэмээн тайлбарлаж байна. Энэхүү саналд нэгдсэн гишүүн холбоод 2027-2030 оны мөчлөгт 40 сая ам.долларын санхүүжилт авах боломжтой бол, эсэргүүцсэн холбоод 20 сая ам.доллар хүлээн авах юм.
Гэвч Европын хөлбөмбөгийн холбоо (УЕФА) болон Хойд, Төв Америк, Карибын тэнгисийн орнуудын холбоо (КОНКАКАФ) энэхүү төлөвлөгөөг эрс эсэргүүцэж байна. Ялангуяа УЕФА-гийн зүгээс хэрэв уг саналаас татгалзахгүй бол Европын 55 улсын шигшээ баг ФИФА-гийн бүх тэмцээнийг бойкотлохоо мэдэгдээд байна.
Дэлхийн аваргын тэмцээний билетний үнийн хөөрөгдөл, тоглолтын дундуурх зар сурталчилгааны завсарлага болон Ерөнхийлөгч Жанни Инфантиногийн биеэ авч яваа байдал нь олон нийтийн шүүмжлэлийг дагуулсаар байна. Пүрэв гарагт болсон хуралдаануудаар Жанни Инфантиногийн удирдлагын ирээдүйн асуудал ч хөндөгдсөн байна. ФИФА-гийн 211 гишүүн холбооноос олонхын санал болон ФИФА-гийн Зөвлөлийн дэмжлэг авч байж уг төсөл хэрэгжих боломжтой юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
FIFA has insisted “nobody is selling football” after criticism of its decision to launch a consultation on selling stakes in a World Cup commercial entity to private investors.
The world governing body of football stopped short of saying it would be withdrawing the plan and instead reaffirmed its commitment to press ahead with the consultation period.
On Thursday, both European confederation UEFA and Concacaf, the confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean, rejected FIFA’s plans to sell stakes in the World Cup.
The Athletic reported FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s future leadership of the organisation was questioned during each of those federation meetings.
Are FIFA really trying to sell the World Cup? An expert explains
Chris Weatherspoon
UEFA and Concacaf released statements rejecting the plans following their respective meetings, with UEFAannouncing that all 55 European members would boycott all FIFA competitions unless the proposals were abandoned.
Concacaf and UEFA make up 90 of the 211 FIFA member associations.
On Friday, FIFA responded to say it “acknowledges and respects feedback and concern aired in public” but was pressing on with its proposals, adding that the body “reaffirms its commitment to an open and democratic consultation”.
It said the FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE), the new entity which would take over FIFA’s commercial operations, “has been proposed solely to ensure that all FIFA Member Associations (MAs) have the opportunity to take meaningful ownership of the commercial opportunity of football in their respective countries, and that this does not come at the cost of either the spirit or the governance of FIFA or football itself.”
It added: “Nobody is selling football. This is not something FIFA would ever entertain.
“Everyone has the right to express their opposition and to seek further clarification but no single entity can claim to represent all 211 MAs around the world.”
FIFA has also confirmed that if MAs are opposed to the FFE plan but the proposal passes, those opposed will still receive $20million each in 2027-30 cycle (followed by $22m in 2031-34 and $24m in 2035-38), irrespective of whether any stake in FFE is sold to private investors.
However, if that MA agrees to the FFE proposal, it will receive $40m in 2027-30, with the subsequent payments to remain the same.
What exactly has happened and what was the initial proposal?
On Tuesday, it was revealed that FIFA wanted to set up a new private entity — FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) — to manage the commercial operations of its showpiece events, including the World Cup. As part of the plans, FIFA announced it was looking to sell a 21 per cent minority stake in FFE to outside investors. FIFA said the company was valued at $20billion (£14.8bn) by global bank JPMorgan Chase.
Thrive Capital, the company founded by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, is expected to head up the proposed investor group.
To entice its 211 member associations, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said they would be in line to receive $40million in FIFA’s next four-year cycle if they backed his plans. He then gave them just 53 days to support the proposals — or miss out on the potential windfall.
For the plans to go through, however, FIFA needs a majority of its member associations and approval from the 37 members of the FIFA Council.
Coming just weeks after the conclusion of a World Cup dogged by controversy — including extortionate ticket prices, commercial breaks in each half dressed up as hydration breaks, President Trump intervening to overturn a red card for U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, and a surreal half-time show in the final — and following Infantino’s extraordinary Instagram meltdown, the proposals have only intensified criticism of FIFA and its boss.
Tom Burrows
FIFA President Gianni Infantino arrives at the World Cup final (Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)
Why is UEFA against it?
As soon as the plans became public on Tuesday, UEFA issued a swift and scathing response, saying they “cross a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross”.
It went on to say how “the soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”
UEFA and its 55 member associations later gathered for a virtual meeting on Thursday, with more than 40 associations speaking out against the proposals.They later put out an uncompromising new statement, saying no UEFA national teams would take part in any FIFA competition until the proposals were shelved.
“Some things are simply too important to sell,” it added. “The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.”
UEFA taking such a strong stance puts Infantino in a very sticky spot.
Tom Burrows
