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  • 6 minutes ago
FIFA's plans to seek private investment in the World Cup have come under huge criticism from governing bodies
Transcript
00:00As FIFA president, I have the statutory responsibility to generate the income which allows FIFA to invest in all of
00:12these countries where otherwise nobody would invest.
00:28Well, Infantino is proposing setting up a new company which will be responsible for FIFA's commercial activities.
00:38And that new company will be open to external investment.
00:43I think the fear is amongst the federations, amongst the players as well, when you speak to the players
00:49union, is that the investors will want a return on their investment.
00:55And how do you get that return? You get that return through having more matches, more competitions, more often.
01:11It could be very lucrative for them, especially if UEFA are still involved and the level of profits
01:18are maintained.
01:19So anybody who's involved in this could become even wealthier than they are already.
01:25And whether they need to be wealthier than they are already is a separate discussion.
01:35UEFA already has the majority of the power.
01:39They, of course, have the Champions League.
01:41They have the European Championships.
01:43So they are seen as the rich entity in world football.
01:47If they boycotted, where would this leave FIFA in terms of a World Cup?
02:10If FIFA is now acting for the greater good of pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and existing multimillionaires
02:16and billionaires,
02:17I think that you have to have question marks as to its continued status as a charitable organisation.

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