Hands off our World Cup, Gianni!
Credit: Texi Smith
Here's me thinking the end of the 2026 World Cup would see the peak of Trump-Infantino absurdity in our rear-view mirror. I was wrong.
It's barely been long enough for supporters to catch their breath since the confetti settled on pitch at the the World Cup final in New Jersey and FIFA President Gianni Infantino has unveiled perhaps his most audacious idea yet. Nay. Most ridiculous idea yet.
Infantino and the commercial geniuses of FIFA are seeking to sell a stake in future editions of the FIFA World Cup. FIFA plans to create a new commercial entity valued at around US$20 billion and offer up to 20 per cent ownership to private owners.
For football supporters around Australia, this should ring alarm bells.
The World Cup is not a tech start-up seeking venture capital.
It is not a corporate asset to be packaged up and sold off to private investors.
The World Cup is football's crown jewel. Its enormous value (not just monetary mind you) has been built over generations by players, supporters, clubs and communities across every corner of the globe. FIFA is meant to be its guardian, not its broker.
FIFA argues that bringing private investment into the game will unlock billions of dollars in additional funding for member associations and football development programs.
But football supporters have heard these arguments before. Every major commercial expansion over the past two decades has been sold as being good for the game. More matches. More tournaments. More sponsors. More hospitality. More broadcasters. Yet somehow the ordinary supporter always seems to pay the price.
Ticket prices continue to climb (exhibit A: FIFA World Cup 2026). Access becomes harder. Kick-off times are sculpted around television audiences. Football decisions increasingly feel driven by commercial imperatives rather than the interests of fans, players and communities.
And now FIFA wants to invite private investors into the engine room of football's most valuable competition.
Infantino insists governance will remain unchanged and that FIFA will retain majority control. Yet it is naïve to believe investors will commit billions of dollars without expecting influence, growth and ever-increasing returns. Private capital rarely arrives with a commitment to tradition. It arrives seeking profit.
Credit: Texi Smith
Oh, and we know how Infantino struggles to maintain football control in the face of excessive power and might. Hello President Trump!
That is why the backlash from across world football has been so swift and so fierce. UEFA, CONCACAF and our very own confederation leaders from the AFC have been blindsided by Infantino.
The AFC couldn’t have put it much better: ““Decisions that may reshape the commercial and financial future of the game require comprehensive prior engagement with confederations, member associations and other relevant stakeholders before any proposal is made to the appropriate decision-making body(ies),”
Back home, Football Australia has confirmed it too has only just become aware of the proposal and is seeking further information before determining its position.
While due diligence is important, this is one of those moments where football's stakeholders should already understand the principle at stake. The World Cup is not a commercial asset that should be ceded to private ownership. The proposal itself is the problem.
Football Australia should not simply be seeking clarification from FIFA. It should be joining the growing chorus of football bodies, clubs, players and supporter groups demanding this proposal be withdrawn. Sometimes leadership is not about waiting for more information. It is about recognising an atrocious idea when you see one.
If this plan proceeds, Football Australia risks finding itself debating the fine print of a model that should never have reached the negotiation table in the first place. Oh, and Football Australia’s much cited financial woes must not influence the decision to accept FIFA’s ’30 pieces of silver’.
The bigger issue is one of principle.
The World Cup belongs to nobody and everybody. It belongs to the generations who have followed their national teams around the world. It belongs to the volunteers who built local football clubs. It belongs to the children dreaming of representing their country on the biggest stage. It belongs to supporters who invest their time, money and passion every four years.
It does not belong to Gianni Infantino, Donald Trump or a venture capital company that could afford to buy all of its employees ‘Front Category 1’ tickets at the recent World Cup final!
Football is already wrestling with growing concerns about greed, over-commercialisation and the widening gap between governing bodies and supporters. This proposal risks taking that disconnect to an entirely new level.
As Football Australia Chairman Anter Isaac recently observed, leaders have a responsibility to make decisions that strengthen the game not only for today, but for future generations.
That responsibility now falls on Football Australia and the wider football community.
Football Supporters Association Australia calls on Football Australia to stand with supporters, players and football stakeholders around our nation and demand that FIFA withdraw this proposal.
The World Cup belongs to the people who built it, the players who compete in it and the supporters who give it life.
Not Gianni Infantino.
Not private equity.
Not venture capital.
And absolutely not the highest bidder.
