Selling the Soul of Football

Selling the Soul of Football looks at the extraordinary row involving FIFA, Gianni Infantino, UEFA and the future of the World Cup. At the centre of it all is money. Quite a lot of money, naturally. Because when football gets itself into trouble these days, somewhere nearby there is usually a very large cheque and a man in a suit explaining that this is all for the good of the game.FIFA has been accused of trying to sell off part of the commercial value of the World Cup to private investors, effectively turning football’s greatest international tournament into something rather closer to a franchise. UEFA was not impressed. In fact, not impressed barely covers it.The backlash was fierce, with European football authorities warning that they would not simply sit back while the World Cup was repackaged as an investment vehicle. There were even threats that UEFA nations could refuse to take part in FIFA competitions if the plan went ahead.Which is quite something.Because this is not some minor disagreement over sponsorship boards or whether referees should wear purple socks. This is a row about who football actually belongs to.FIFA has 211 member associations. The World Cup is watched by billions of people around the globe. It is one of the few truly worldwide sporting events, something that still manages, despite everything, to feel bigger than sponsors, broadcasters, governing bodies and whichever corporate partner has paid to have its logo nearest the trophy.And that is why this matters.Football has always involved money. Clubs need revenue. Players need paying. Stadiums cost fortunes. Television companies pay enormous sums for broadcasting rights. Nobody seriously expects international football to be financed by a tombola and a tray of slightly disappointing sandwiches.But there is surely a point where commercialisation becomes ownership.If private investors can buy into the World Cup itself, what exactly are they buying? Revenue? Influence? Control? And once part of the game is sold, how easy is it ever to get it back?In this episode of Mark and Pete, we look at Gianni Infantino, FIFA, UEFA, World Cup commercial rights, private investment in football and the growing battle over who controls the world’s game.Football has survived bad owners, dubious administrators and some genuinely dreadful third kits.Selling its soul might be rather harder to recover from.