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FIFA President Gianni Infantino: AFP FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Saturday he has scrapped a plan to allow private investment in the World Cup following fierce backlash from football officials worldwide. “Our purpose has always been — and will always be — to unite and improve,” Infantino said in a statement. “As a result, this proposal will not proceed.” FIFA, world football’s governing body, had floated the plan on Tuesday, saying it could raise up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20 billion for a new FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a commercial subsidiary it proposed to run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup. It said that, if approved, the project could provide each of FIFA’s 211 member associations with a one-off payment of $20 million in early 2027 and increase their funding allocation for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20 million. The Asian Football Confederation, which represents 47 member nations, welcomed the plan’s withdrawal on Saturday. Any initiative that may impact global football should be “presented and discussed with the Confederations, the FIFA Council, Member Associations (MAs) and other stakeholders in a timely, transparent and meaningful manner,” the Kuala Lumpur-based body said in a statement. The Mexican Football Federation also welcomed the move, saying that “unity among all the Confederations and Federations has been prioritised for the good of football”. Earlier this week, European football’s governing body UEFA said none of its national teams would participate in any FIFA competition “for so long as these proposals remain alive”. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and North American and Caribbean federation (CONCACAF) also condemned the move. “The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product,” UEFA said in a statement. “No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.” Pressure mounted on Infantino on Friday with the resignation of senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro, who called the idea “a bad deal for FIFA’s member associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game”. South American confederation CONMEBOL, whose president Alejandro Dominguez is regarded as a close ally of Infantino, demanded further information on the “scope, structure, governance and potential effects” of the project. – ‘Created divisions’ -In the late-night statement announcing the plan was dead, Infantino said the project was conceived as a means of strengthening member associations, and that it would only have gone ahead if a majority supported it. “Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,” he said. FIFA had tried to fend off the critics, saying in a statement early Friday that it would continue consultations with member associations and insisting that “nobody is selling football”.But the pressure mounted, and not just within the football community. A day after the European Union praised UEFA for “defending the integrity of the game,” UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Friday that Infantino was “the wrong man” to lead FIFA. The beleaguered Infantino said he would focus now on restoring harmony while continuing to grow the game.”Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support,” he said. Related Story Source link
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Iga Swiatek is hoping to benefit from new coach Francisco Roig’s experience and technical expertise when the world number four begins her claycourt season at the Stuttgart Open this week after a disappointing start to the year.The Polish six-times Grand Slam champion lost in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and tournaments in Doha and Indian Wells before a shock second-round defeat by Magda Linette in the Miami Open last month.That prompted Swiatek to part ways with her coach Wim Fissette and hire Roig, who worked with her idol Rafa Nadal from 2005-22 and more recently with Briton Emma Raducanu.”I’m really happy to start with Francis,” Swiatek told a press conference in Stuttgart.”I was basically looking for someone with a good eye, really technical, but also a person that is experienced enough to help me through some different kind of situations. I feel Francisco has lived through everything on tour.”It’s going really amazing … I was able to find a new coach pretty fast, which is a positive thing because when you do that in the middle of the season, it’s nice to have some security in that.”Swiatek, who has won four French Open titles on her favoured clay courts, began preparations for the Grand Slam that begins on May 24 with a training block at Nadal’s academy in Mallorca under the watchful eyes of the Spaniard.”I asked if it would be possible for him to come and maybe be some kind of inspiration, also hear some feedback from him,” Swiatek said.”It was a privilege to have him on court. I honestly didn’t have many expectations because I know he’s super busy and he has a lot of stuff to do, even though he always has different projects and everything.”Now I’ll continue with Francisco. He’ll be the person that takes care of the whole process. That’s the plan for now.” Related Story Source link
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Nasser al-Khelaifi, President of Paris Saint-Germain, praised his side’s collective approach after they secured a place in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Liverpool FC at Anfield on Tuesday evening, sealing a 4-0 aggregate victory. PSG are the defending champions and have strong hopes of winning the title again this year.“We tried everything in the past 13-15 years. Three years ago, with Luis Enrique and the new project, we are trying to build something with a very young team. That is what we tried,” al-Khelaïfi said in a post-match interview.“We tried everything in the past 13-15 years. Three years ago, with Luis Enrique and the new project, we are trying to build something with a very young team. That is what we tried,” he added, reflecting on the club’s long-term direction under head coach Luis Enrique.“Of course, results are really important, but the most important for us was how we played football, to have a team, not players only. The star is the team, there are no stars in our team. Even today, we have the Ballon d’Or [winner], our players are huge, but the biggest star is the team.“They work for each other, the team, the club, the logo. We can probably have the best players in the world last year and this year but they work together as a team. Your fault is my fault, they run together, that is the mentality we want to have. We have the best coach in the world, he is an amazing coach, person and motivator.”PSG president’s first reaction after the win also included a tribute to the 97 Liverpool fans who lost their lives in the Hillsborough disaster.“We really think about the 97 people who lost their lives for football, and that’s something much bigger than any football, any sport. So, our thoughts are with them and their family,” he said.He also showed support for Hugo Ekitike, who picked up an injury during the match, saying he hopes the injury is not too serious.Al-Khelaïfi said the team would stay grounded despite the result.“We are here, of course, very proud, very happy with both the result and qualifying for the semi-final. To come here and show respect for the amazing fans, and to beat them 2-0 again, that’s an amazing achievement.”“But we need to be humble, we need to stay grounded and think about the next step, the next match. We shouldn’t go over the moon, but we’re very, very happy.” Related Story Source link
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