Infantino clearly wants to see FIFA making billions so he and many others can pocket millions legally. But the only way for this to happen in a non-corrupt way, given that FIFA is non-profit and therefore requires a lot of questionable operations, is to turn FIFA into a business like NFL / MLS.

The problem with that is that it then it is no longer a sport, rather a... business.

UEFA letter is spot on.

This is so highly unusual even sports-allergic HN wants to discuss it. It's like a religious schism in some sense.

About time

Hard to think of a modern institution as corrupt as fifa. That may not bother too many people because it’s not their government, but I just think it stinks

I'm so happy to see they care enough to take a stand. The last World Cup was a sh-t show. I expect the LA olympics to be no better.

It's only a matter of time before there are sponsors on the Yellow and Red cards...

I think the mandatory ad break introduced by FIFA at the World Cup was also too much for most football people, not just fans. Changed too much, broke the dynamics, basically the sport became a game of 4 quarters instead of 2 halves. These two things combined together are just over the top and unacceptable (UEFA already said they won't use these mandatory ad breaks anywhere)

This is the closest where I can see a future where we have a rugby union / rugby league like schism.

Oh and guess who is behind the investment group: https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-fifa-investors-kushner-...

It's a pity that those letters are not sent for many many other things.

Why is this out of the gate bad? Note that this is not taking FIFA to private equity, but creating an investors owned subsidiary to run events and commercial operations where the non profit arm will still own 80% of it. With the right protections it could help FIFA make more money and reinvest in the sport, particularly women’s football. FIFA currently makes 40% of what the NHL makes, not the NFL, not NBA. Soccer is by far the most popular sport on the planet, the fact that it makes a lot less money than hockey is insane.

Europe, united at long last!

Somewhere in this fetid swamp of corruption, you just know the trump crime syndicate has its greasy hands on the pie.

I find the UEFA standpoint a little disingenuous since commercial interests have been a top priority in football (soccer) for decades. Claiming that allowing investors to participate will hurt the sport are at the very least a misrepresentation of the current situation.

Although I disagree with his methods and goals I enjoy watching the way Infantino uses power play to stack the cards in his favor.

The only way for the UEFA to reclaim authority would be to demand two-thirds voting rights. The model of "one country, one vote" clearly works to UEFA's disadvantage even though its clubs contribute the majority of FIFA's income.

Football/soccer is one place where Europe can easily flex their muscles against American capitalism and corruption. Good on them for saying it loud and clear.

It's crazy that as despicable an organization as UEFA is, they're still far better than FIFA.

Infantino has been a disgrace, I hope they manage to get rid of him, but I have very little hope.

I secretly hope that Infantino goes ahead with it anyway. UEFA and others will form something new. Something that replaces the incredibly broken and corrupted FIFA with a de-facto and de-jure non-profit governing body.

The same UEFA that added redundant matches and teams to the Champions League for money, and that came up with the Nations League because they wanted to extract more money from the national teams?

Yes, but isn't football already overly commercialised? Why is advertising for sports betting or alcohol any better than the FIFA issue? UEFA should take a look at itself, too.

Good to see some "balls" can still be found

ELI5? What are the factors and implications?

CONCACAF too

Wow! Now you have my respect, UEFA.

Good calls. Honestly, the last World Cup already had way too many unwatchable matches before the quarterfinals. And the hydration pauses to sell more ads. And that halftime show during the final.

It seems like Europe, yet again, have to stand up for ethics, morality and try to deflect corruption. It's so tiresome.

Okay, got to admit I did _not_ have “Trump breaks the World Cup” on my bingo card.

The FA's worldwide don't need FIFA, they can set up a new world tournament. You will get a lot of poor nations who stick with FIFA for the cash but at the end of the day without European teams the world cup and FIFA will have minimal value. 5 of the last 6 world cup winners were european and it will only get more biased towards Europe. Argentina post Messi have no chance, and Brazil are the furthest away from winning than they ever have been.

Europe is where all the money is made in football. UEFA just want more of the pie.

FIFA is a repulsive pit of corruption but UEFA isn't much better.

Remember Blatter and Platini?

..

Good. Good riddance.

FIFA is just upholding western values. Profit, exploitation and money over everything else. They with FIA and likes are just showing the world what truly matters for western world.

[dupe] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49112089

Cue UEFA's leadership being replaced in the next year or two. FIFA has had a taste of the amount of money involved in professional sports. There's no going back.

This whole thread is full of people that cannot conceive a model where profit is not the goal