To FIFA President Gianni Infantino and the Trump administration’s credit, the recently concluded soccer World Cup was a huge success. The introduction of absurd, greed-motivated water breaks notwithstanding, the addition of more teams was welcomed by fans. It made for a more unpredictable and exciting tournament. Considering FIFA’s gross mishandling of ticket sales in advance of the tournament, the end result was a manifestly positive one.
Unfortunately, Infantino has sought to use this success not as a means of further bolstering international soccer but rather for enriching himself at soccer’s expense. This isn’t surprising, of course. After all, Infantino isn’t just a self-described “disabled, gay, African migrant worker.” He is a man corrupted by his incessant desire for ever-greater wealth and power.
FIFA’s corruption has been endemic for more than a decade. But this time, a FIFA president has finally gone too far. The world’s various regional soccer bodies are rightly moving to force Infantino out of office.
At contention is Infantino’s now-defunct but utterly corrupt plan to allow private investors to buy more than $4 billion in future World Cup stakes. In return for supporting this scheme, Infantino offered each national soccer body $20 million in upfront payments. The intent of this bribe was clear: to earn the voting loyalty of less wealthy national soccer associations and consolidate his hold over the most powerful position in international soccer. The bigger problem?
Infantino’s plan would have greatly diluted the influence of soccer fans and national soccer bodies in favor of corporate interests. And controlling a vast new revenue flow, Infantino would have earned vast leverage over the future form and conduct of competitive soccer. In effect, he would have transformed from a president to a monarch akin to his friend, the Qatari Emir. But this plan was always ultimately about greed. As a case in point, Infantino’s scheme centered on holding World Cup tournaments every two years instead of every four years. Notably, Infantino also planned to have a financial firm under Jared Kushner’s brother, Joshua Kushner, lead this private investor effort. That underlined Infantino’s comfort with cronyism and associated desire to woo the Trump administration.
When the powerful European UEFA soccer body and other regional bodies came out strongly against Infantino’s plans, he grudgingly backed down. But not before he had accused them of spreading “hate and false rumors.”
Such ridiculousness has long defined Infantino. As I noted back in June, his “presidency has seen him fire those charged with wrenching out FIFA’s endemic corruption. Infantino took heavy criticism for a secret 2020 meeting with the then-Swiss attorney general (who was then forced to resign). He has also reveled in accepting the VIP treatment from tournament hosts, including Russia. He now lives in Qatar [which somehow secured the 2022 World Cup]. And considering Infantino’s decision to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, a country, again, not exactly known for its soccer prowess, one wonders whether Infantino’s offshore bank accounts might jump significantly in the coming years.”
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Enough is enough.
Infantino was always a ludicrous character, booed by fans whenever his face appeared on the screen. But this latest racket should be the nail in his professional coffin. If he somehow manages to buy his way into staying on, soccer bodies of any moral character should boycott FIFA.