- FA’s trust in Fifa results in potential huge losses for football from World Cup
- Chaos looms in the Champions League draw. Of course – what did you expect?
By Tony Attwood
If you take any interest in the World Cup (and of course there is no particular reason why you should – it is just another opportunity for Arsenal players to be injured and not available at he start of the 2026/7 season) you will probably have come across a range of issues that are concerning some correspondents and teams.
Mostly these focus on money, because instead of the World Cup becoming a good way to top up the bank account of the various associations taking part, it appears to have become, at best, a a bowl of uncertainty or at worst a way to bankrupt a few national associations.
The tournament is of course going to be the biggest one ever – that is inevitable because it is mostly happening in the United States, and the event is extended beyond anything we have seen before.
Second, matters relating to England’s involvement are being handled by the FA which is a fairly sure sign of disaster. (Remember when for yeas the FA ran the Charity Shield and yet had no dealing with the Charity Commission, and didn’t keep proper records of the money it raised and which charities it went to. That was when they got formal warnings about their future conduct from the police and demands from the Charity Commission. The FA’s response: they simply changed the name of the cup.
Anyway now the news is that the FA and some other federations think they might lose money this summer, because Trump has put the prices up, and no one knows what tax exemptions work where. The prize money looks a bit feeble too.
As a result some associations started asking questions about where the money is at the Uefa Congress where it seems Fifa officials didn’t seem to have answers except to say that he money given to each delegate attending as part of the country’s entourage has been reduced. As a result of this and other cuts countries might expect to get about half a million dollars less each.
Now since most football associations don’t make much money overall this could lead to some associations running out of money, especially as the USA has not guaranteed tax exemptions for the countries playing there although those playing in Mexico and the USA will get exemptions. And that’s a problem since each US state sets its own tax rates. Fifa, which increasingly these days bends the knee to Trump and co, has said this sis not in its remit. What makes things worse is that the ticket prices have been raised, and the event lasts around six weeks rather than the usual four.
The American authorities however have come up with a nifty answer. They say that all the countries playing in the WC will get exposure to the USA market, and can expect US TV networks to start bidding for the rights to show football league games in the countries seen in the World Cup. This is thought to be a pretty wild fantasy by most countries.
Of course some of the players and virtually all of their clubs were involved in negotiations over payments for the last world cup, and everyone expected a hefty increase in payments to clubs and countries. Now it is not happening, and the American president doesn’t seem interested.
However this chaotic situation is having one bonus, as a few countries are starting to wonder whether Fifa is actually up to the task of putting on such a large show, especially when faced by a country whose government seems to have one or two other things on its mind at present. Issues such as inflation, unemployment, uncertainty over tarrifs, terrorism, the condition of the country’s roads, bridges etc, racism, climate change, the state of the nation’s schools which seem to have been left to rot, illegal immigration, the budget deficit, violent crime, drug addiction, the absence of health care and inflation.
Of course running a football competition is pretty important with the rest of the world watching, but then when you have the vast majority of Americans not even mentioning those issues above but actually focusing entirely on inflation then there is an actual problem. I am not sure ticket sales are going too well either.
