Stephen Vines

The View | More money in football means more scandals, less local connection

Stephen Vines says Fifa head Gianni Infantino has had a less scandal-plagued run than his predecessor, but his grand plans for new global club competitions will mean more corporate dollars and a loss of the local feel fans crave

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Fifa president Gianni Infantino (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin inspect the renovated Fisht Stadium, in Sochi, which will host some matches of the upcoming 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia, on May 3. Infantino has spoken of grandiose plans for world football, including a new world cup for clubs rather than countries. Photo: EPA-EFE

Stephen Vines

Published: 3:00pm, 23 May 2018Updated: 10:43pm, 23 May 2018

There is only one thing more worrisome than the appearance of sporting matters on the business pages of newspapers; this is when they also start appearing in the crime reporting sections. Fifa, which presides over international soccer, and is one of the world’s most powerful sporting institutions, has seen its name prominently splashed over both these news sections.

It should be noted in parenthesis that the virus of corruption has affected many other sports, so football does not stand alone in the doghouse.

Yet there was something lamentably special about the way that this towering sport, arguable the only truly international ball game, was dragged into the mud during the reign of Sepp Blatter as Fifa president. His regime was tortuously brought to an end in 2015.

Blatter’s successor, Gianni Infantino, is frequently featured in business news as he makes his way around the world of multinational corporations in search of sponsorship for two new types of world cup competitions – one will expand the global competition between clubs, not nations, and the other will create a new football league.

Behind all this is the prospect of some vast sums of money; Japan’s Softbank, for one, is reportedly pledging funding to the tune of US$25 billion and clubs able to participate in this fandango are promised incentives involving over US$1 billion at the top end.