Piers Morgan Slams FIFA’s World Cup Commercialization 🙈

Almost two weeks on from the World Cup final and FIFA has still not managed to work out whether it will punish Argentina's violent thuggery after the final whistle.But while the wheels of justice turn very slowly at FIFA HQ, the numbers on his balance sheet seem to climb at supersonic speeds.In the short time since the last World Cup ended, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has managed to devise a radical plan to sell it off to investors.First in line for estate would be Joshua Kushner, who is, of course, the brother of President Trump's son -in -law.Many of us feel uncomfortable with this move.about the sickly amount of profiteering at the World Cup that we've just watched.

Hydration breaks, which themselves were sponsored, interrupted big games in air -conditioned stadiums so that US TV could show commercial breaks.The average ticket price at the final was more than £10 ,000.Winning players got special Super Bowl -style rings, but so did anybody willing to pay thousands of dollars for their own.

Even the trophy itself arrived in a gilded cage sponsored by Louis Vuitton.Now, imagine what would happen The incentive is not just greed, but an obligation to line the pockets of stakeholders.A group of people whose sole interest is a return on their investment will have a big say on all of the ideas you hate.A World Cup every two years, another permanent expansion to include more countries I've never heard of, a paywall for top games, or the rights sold off to subscription TV.Once you've formalized a quest for profit, football itself becomes an afterthought.And all of this without even speculating what might happen when the investors think a red card should be magically overturned and not just the US president.

FIFA is expecting revenues of 15 billion dollars for North American World Cup.Isn't that enough?We've all gone along for the ride as big money has changed football, but you don't need to be a communist to see the difference between monetizing the existing game and the game existing to be monetized.The condemnation from UEFA, the second time in a month they've had to torch FIFA in public, shows how serious this is.Football is now on the brink of a civil war of its own mind.FIFA's only duty is to be a sentinel of a game which has always belonged to the fans, just as the players are custodians of our national pride.

Selling off the World Cup should be a non -starter because it simply isn't theirs to sell.