- By Tony Attwood
There is a newspaper headline that reads Club World Cup truths do not matter to Gianni Infantino and I am sure that is absolutely true – although I am sure we can go much further and simply say, “Truths do not matter to Giani Infantino”.
That particular statement about Club World Cup truths not mattering was presumably based on the notion that the unwanted summer competition is claimed to have generated over $2billion of revenue. (That is claimed by Infantino – what the real amount is, we don’t know).
In fact, that issue of “not knowing” is now the problem with world football generally, for more and more unlikely statements are made, and more and more we find it hard to know how they can be verified. Certainly, any talk of DAZN (which broadcasts the CWC) needs to include an acknowledgement that, as DAZN is now part-owned by the Saudi government) in order that it could pay the moeny that Fifa needed in order to say that the CWC was a financial success.
In short, we are now closer than ever to Saudi Arabia running Fifa. Which may not sound like a bad idea to some people, but I retain this old-fashioned belief in accountability, and that seems to vanish within deals involving non-democratic countries.
Of course, we could always hope for the fact that some of the clubs in Europe (who provide the bulk of the money to keep Fifa running) might actually say “no” – and maybe behind closed doors they are having such chats. But for the moment, nothing is leaking out.
Which in turn means that the Saudis now have an extra major power base that they did not have before. We’ve had the Qatar world cup in a country that really didn’t seem to know too much about football, and forbad half its population from being at games, and we have the Saudi League, which has been called an “Ill-Conceived Attempt at Sportswashing, Doomed to Fail”.
Indeed, the Saudi Pro League has achieved something rather unusual in football in that it has managed to get itself criticised both by financial commentators and by the regular football websites such as 442 at the same time. As 442 said in their article headline, “Why so many big names are rejecting a big payday in Saudi Arabia.”
What has happened over time is that even the media, who of course, are dependent on Fifa for their free tickets to events such as the Club World Cup, have started to realise that this is not a “product” that they can sell to the population at large. And coming on top of its support for the Saudi League, that means two faux pas by football’s authorities in a row.
But the particular problem that Fifa has got itself into is that although some of the football media will of course fawn over anything and everything Fifa says (because of the free tickets they get), finally, some others have had enough. For example, the headline “The Saudi Pro League Is an Ill-Conceived Attempt at Sportswashing, Doomed to Fail” may not be one that much of the world at large reads (it came from The Polotics Society) but when different sections of the media start to get together to criticise a world organistaion, and all that organisation can do is ignore them, what generally happens is that something gives.
Of course, part of the job of the Fifa president is to insist that everything is wonderful and that every event has been a success, even when it palpably hasn’t. One can only hope that eventually the clubs and players stop reading the handouts and consider what most of the world thought about the show. It may be going too far to say that this could be the event that triggers a wholesale revolt against Fifa by the rest of the football world, but surely there must be a limit to how many of these tournaments the clubs who pay the players are going to put up with.
And the fact that the President of Fifa spends time meeting the President of the United States in the White House is something that does tell quite a few of us exactly where Fifa and the football it controls are going.
Or as the Telegraph rather finely put it, in describing Fifa’s approach: “Tell everyone what you would like the truth to be, refuse to go into the details, and then ask Ronaldo what he thinks.”
But we do know for sure that 39 domestic leagues around the world feel so strongly about Fifa riding roughshod over the international calendar that they have launched legal action against the governing body at the European Commission. That Fifpro, the players’ union, has spoken out about the toll on player welfare is another factor not to be ignored.
Add to that the voice of Jürgen Klopp, a man who is not, like some other famous former Premier League managers, beholden to Fifa , who says that the competition is “the worst idea implemented in football,” and the size of the rebellion becomes something to take into account. And that gives Fifa problems because it has not only taken all the DAZN TV money for this season, but is already planning what it is going to charge DAZN next time. For Fifa needs that broadcast revenue desperately, and it is hard to see the clubs uniting enough to say “no”.
And of course, some clubs are benefitting. It is said that Chelsea will have made more than $100 million out of this competition – enough to overcome their Financial Fair Play problems, and still spend a fortune this summer. Plus of course, the money earned effectively means that Fifa, by choosing which teams play in the Club World Cup, decides which clubs get the money, and therefore which clubs can buy the players to stand a chance of winning their domestic league.
In short, it is a route to making sure everyone knows well in advance who the champions are, everywhere. We hardly need the Leagues (which Fifa of course doesn’t control) any more.
In short, the Super League never went away; it just came back in a different form, but this time, instead of being under the control of the clubs, it is under the control of Infantino and his Fifa henchmen. I am not sure that is an improvement.
This was the battle between Fifa and Uefa, finally played out. Uefa in the past has had the wealth, because all the top clubs are in Uefa, and Fifa had to spread itself more thinly. Now Fifa has won, Infantino has won, and the only way back is for the clubs, finally, the reclaim what is theirs. And they really don’t have very long to do that.
A very insightful article Tony.
The other thing that needs consideration is player wellfare, it is inevitable that player injuries and fatigue will have an effect on the participating clubs. I can see now the clubs involved demanding a bigger squad for Premier and Champions League competitions. Already Chelsea have appealed for a later start to their league campaign and what will happen when they have 4 or 5 players unavailable because of fatigue and or injury.
Neither Fifa or Euefa are fit for purpose and the FA is not much better, I wonder what the game will look like in 10 years time. Not in a better state is my gloomy prediction.
All teams selected have to play and put up their strongest side. Refusals can be fined £up to £445,000.
I’ve watched a few games and am impressed with the Brazilian sides and their supporters. TBH I don’t see much of a future for CWC if enough European clubs get together to oppose it, but having said that am looking forward to seeing the best team in the world slaughtering Chelsea later.
What is Arsene Wenger’s part in all this?