Sepp Blatter, who led FIFA for 17 years, has strongly criticized the organization’s plan to create a $20bn subsidiary to manage the World Cup and sell stakes to investors. He argues that the World Cup is a cultural heritage that should not be treated as a commercial asset.
FIFA announced the plan to offer up to 20 percent of the new entity to external investors, a move that has sparked backlash from football authorities like UEFA. Blatter stressed that football belongs to the people and warned that turning FIFA into a profit-driven corporation would harm the sport’s soul.
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter has slammed the football governing body’s plans to create a $20bn subsidiary to run the World Cup, saying the tournament was not a commercial asset that belonged to a few executives.
Related coverage: Seaside town responds to ‘Clickgate’ cheating row in local cricket match.
“Football belongs to no individual and to no institution. It belongs to the people,” Blatter told the news agency Reuters on Wednesday.
“If FIFA were transferred into a profit-oriented corporate structure, it would lose its soul,” added Blatter, who was FIFA president for 17 years until 2015.
More context: American and Asian confederations criticize FIFA’s private investment proposal for World Cup.
FIFA said on Tuesday it plans to create the subsidiary to run the World Cup and its other events, and will offer stakes of up to 20 percent in it to external investors.
The move has provoked a furious response from European football authorities, including UEFA, which said FIFA was putting the game up for sale.
Also read: Uefa faces critical moment to challenge Fifa’s new World Cup funding scheme.
Blatter said the World Cup should not become an investment product for private equity with investors seeking returns.
“The FIFA World Cup is not a commercial asset that belongs to a handful of executives,” he said. “It is part of the cultural heritage of world football.”
Background: FIFA’s proposal to sell minority stakes in World Cup faces UEFA backlash.
“FIFA is the guardian of the World Cup, not its owner.”
Blatter said he was shocked at the idea, adding he would never have considered it when he ran FIFA.
Investors pursuing influence and profits run contrary to associations that follow the interests of their members, he said.
“Modern football has survived for more than a century because it belongs to the people,” said Blatter.
“That principle should never change.”
Related coverage:
No comments yet. Start the discussion.