How football said 'no' to Infantino's World Cup greed

Two weeks after Spain lifted the World Cup in New Jersey, FIFA's President decided it would be a good idea to try and 'sell the World Cup'.

In what has turned out to be a disastrous move, Gianni Infantino, who has spent large swathes of the last few years ensuring his bromance with Donald Trump is never far from the forefront of people's minds, tried to sell of 20% of FIFA's commercial rights.

The 2026 World Cup, hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, was a success but it felt like a showcase for how football could be further americanised and sliced up for external actors to make more money.

We spoke to Kieran Maguire, football finance expert, host of The Price of Football podcast and Professor of Football Finance and Liverpool University, to break down the deal and explain how Infantino's latest idea eventually fell flat.










Thumbnail credit:

FIFA President Gianni Infantino at a Press conference in Doha. Doha Stadium Plus/Vinod Divakaran

Date 16 February 2017, 13:13

Source Gianni Infantino

Author Doha Stadium Plus Qatar from Doha, Qatar

WC Trophy:

Photo by Djuradj Vujcic, CC BY 2.0.