The radically renewed football party of FIFA boss Infantino mainly criticizes

FIFA chairman Gianni Infantino uses big words last Tuesday in a room in Miami. « We write history, » he says, standing next to the Golden Trophy for the World Cup for clubs. Not only is it engraved twice, the World Football Association also claims in a text on the cup that the tournament is the « highlight » of all international club competitions. A « Big Bang« In the history of football, says Infantino in Miami.

Whether the radically renewed Club-WK, which will start this Saturday in the United States, that makes expectations is the question. Unlike Infantino makes it believe, there is a lot of skepticism. Player’s unions think it is irresponsible that FIFA is organizing a large four -week tournament in almost the only period that (top) players can rest. « Absurd » national coach Ronald Koeman recently called the event. « You destroy players. »

The public interest is still limited. Match tickets are offered at spot prices, written The authoritative The Athletic This week. Whether the opening match on Saturday at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami between Inter Miami FC, with the intended star of the Lionel Messi tournament, and the Egyptian Al-Ahly is sold out is doubtful.

Five questions about the controversial tournament that, according to FIFA, was conceived by Infantino.

1 Why is this tournament so important for FIFA?

An extensive World Cup for clubs has long been a fiery wish of the World Football Association. FIFA traditionally is the most powerful organization in football, with 211 members – the national football unions – and the exclusive right to the organization of one of the most viewed sporting event in the world: the World Cup for country teams. Just look at the list of world leaders that Infantino recently visited, including US President Donald Trump and the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, and you get an impression of the status of FIFA boss.

But in an important part of the sport, FIFA only plays a marginal role: club football. This is run by regional and national football unions, as well as independent competitions such as the Premier League. Most prominent in this area: UEFA, organizer of the European club tournaments. The Champions League in particular has become an unparalleled in the past decades thanks to global interest and more and more fatter in the past decades Cash Cowwith the result that UEFA nowadays generates more sales than FIFA (on average around 4.5 billion euros a year compared to an estimated 3 billion euros).

The World Cup for clubs is therefore part of a power struggle between FIFA and UEFA. More specifically between Infantino and UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin. Sometimes it is fed openly. Like last month during a FIFA congress in Paraguay, when Ceferin and his company Ostentatief left the room in protest against Infantino, who arrived far too late because he had traveled to Saudi Arabia with Trump.

More often it is done when FIFA boss explains about the need to ‘globalize’ football-an implicit complaint about the financial and sporting dominance of European clubs.

2 If the Club-Wk has been a dream of FIFA for so long, why did it take so long?

The tournament has been around since 2000. Previous editions usually had about six to seven participants, from the different continents. The last time it was held in Saudi Arabia, an important ally of Infantino and host country of the World Cup in 2034.

Returning problem with this event: hardly anyone interested it. And so Infantino decided to radically expand the tournament, a formula that he also uses to pump up the income from the ‘traditional’ World Cup. This time 32 clubs are participating, twelve from Europe. The event lasts four weeks, in the middle of the American summer. Just like the real World Cup, the thoroughly renewed edition will now be played every four years and no longer every season.

To make the tournament attractive for top clubs, FIFA has provided it with a golden edge. The participants can distribute $ 1 billion prize money, where ‘sporting and commercial’ criteria determine how much starting money is ready per club. European clubs touch up to tens of millions to just appear at the kick-off, while Auckland City from New Zealand can add at least 3 million euros.

3 Where does that money come from?

The short answer: from a media contract, sponsors and ticket sales. Look a little longer at the lenders and the impression arises that allies Infantino were taken to the rescue to prevent a financial drama. It took striking long before FIFA announced a TV deal. The party that was eventually presented, the British streaming service Dazn, has the ambition to become the ‘Netflix of the sport’. But in large parts of the world, including the US, Dazn is hardly known.

It is striking that the state investment fund of Saudi Arabia, which falls directly under the crown prince, announced PIF, in February that he had taken an interest in Dazn through a subsidiary. Estimated value of the deal: 1 billion dollars. FIFA recently presented the PIF as an important sponsor of the Club-WK, as well as state flying company Qatar Airways. Infantino maintains close ties with the EMIR from Qatar.

4 Apart from the origin, will the football world be happy with the prize money?

The clubs that participate do. But there is a fear that the already crooked financial relationships will increase due to the high prize money. Depending on how far they get, European clubs such as Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City can earn more than 110 million euros. And although the absolute amounts are smaller, the impact on participants from small competitions is perhaps even greater. Take Auckland City. That club plays in an amateur competition in New Zealand and suddenly has millions to spend.

In addition, the placement criteria are complicated and disputable. Twelve participants from Europe, partly selected on the basis of performance in the Champions League, feels strange to a tournament that is partly intended to combat European dominance.

The US received an extra ticket as a host country. That went to Inter Miami, the club of Lionel Messi. Has Inter Miami won the MLS (the competition in the US and Canada)? No, it will be decided in the play-offs, La Galaxy won the final. But FIFA has that the ticket goes to the club that achieved the most points in the regular season, and that is Inter Miami. And so Infantino star player Messi has on his polished football party.

5 Why doesn’t the football world really look forward to this World Cup?

The criticism is that it is too much: a tournament, relatively unimportant but large in a sporting point of view, after the season, in the hot American summer. With the arrival of the Nations League, the expansion of the European club tournaments and the expansion of the European Championships and World Cups for country teams, the international playing calendar was already under pressure. The extensive Club-Wk sharpened that discussion. Player unions and national competitions are fiercely against the tournament, partly due to the risk of overloading.

Especially for players in the European summit, there is hardly any moment of rest in the summer. This applies, among others, to Manchester City-gain Tijjani Reijnders and Internazional defender Denzel Dumfries. They played the European Championship with Orange last summer, now the World Cup for clubs and next year probably the World Cup for country teams in the US, Canada and Mexico. In other words: hardly any recovery time for three summers.

As a title defender City, the final will reach New Jersey on July 13, Reijnders can reach 69 games this season. In addition, he was helped by FIFA: he set up an extra transfer period so that clubs could still strengthen themselves before the club WK. This did not happen before and underlines the importance of the tournament for FIFA. Reijnders was able to make the switch from AC Milan to Manchester City last week.

Dumfries told the press last weekend that after such a long season-he played the Champions League final-he finds ‘quite difficult’ to play the club WK. The playing calendar is « too full, » he said. But Infantino can’t wait: he thinks the tournament will « connect » the world.

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