It will bring in outside investors, open the doors to global money, enrich a handful of inside executives and, perhaps most outrageously of all, might even involve the Trump family. The plans by Fifa, the governing body that controls the World Cup, to sell a stake in the competition, have drawn predictably condemnation, not least from the British Prime Minister Andy Burnham. But hold on. This is getting ridiculous. Football has become the preeminent global sport precisely because it has been so successfully commercialised – and it is too late to change that now.
The argument that football ‘belongs’ to the fans is even odder. It is like saying Nestle belongs to me because I happen to like KitKats
The plans to sell a stake in Fifa are more complex than the offside rule as reviewed by VAR. But it boils down to a proposal by Fifa president Gianni Infantino to create a new subsidiary, called Fifa Forward Enterprise, that will control broadcasting, sponsorship and tickets for the World Cup, and to bring in outside investors to help develop the tournament, as well, of course, as sharing some of the revenue it generates. Britain’s Football Association has condemned the plan, so have football associations from around the word, as well as many leading politicians. ‘Football does not belong to investors,’ argued Burnham. ‘It belongs to the people.’ No one has asked Gary Lineker what he thinks yet. But it is probably safe to say he will be against it.
Of course, it is easy to see why people may have reservations. Any organisation that decided Qatar and Russia were good places to stage a World Cup can hardly make any claim to be on the side of the saints. And it remains to be seen if much of the money raised will actually filter down to the rest of the game. Even so, it is ridiculous to argue that a deal should not be allowed.
There are two big problems with that claim. To start with, as anyone who enjoyed the World Cup this month might have noticed, this is not exactly a Sunday afternoon kick-about in the park between gentleman players. With its huge stadiums, mega-money sponsors, gaudy half-time shows, and extravagantly paid superstars, football is about the most commercialised activity on the planet. A few outside investors will hardly change that. The argument that football ‘belongs’ to the fans is even odder. It is like saying Nestle belongs to me because I happen to like KitKats. Sure, the fans have to be paid attention to, just as Nestle has to remain mindful of its customers. But that hardly means they ‘own’ it.
In reality, there is a reason why football has become the world’s dominant global sport, and arguably the most successful form of entertainment. It is because it has always been open to fresh money and new ideas. Sure, nostalgics might prefer it if it still consisted of Sheffield Wednesday playing Sheffield United on a wet Tuesday evening. But to the rest of the world, the game has long since moved on and become something much bigger. There is nothing wrong with ‘selling’ football – the game will emerge, as it always has in the past, as a far more entertaining spectacle. And with more fans than ever.
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