FIFA's own goals: Revenue maximisation is tarnishing sporting values

As the 23rd edition of the Fifa World Cup kicks off, the remarkable point about this 39-day tournament is how far it has strayed from the original values articulated by its creator, Jules Rimet. The Fifa president saw the World Cup — the first edition was played in 1930 in Uruguay — as a means of fostering universal solidarity and peace by creating a professional platform for working-class sportspeople. While the 1,248 footballers competing for the stylish 18-karat gold trophy still come from modest backgrounds, it is fair to say global peace has proven elusive for reasons outside the sporting body’s control. More concerning, however, is the tarnishing of universal values as Fifa aggressively moves to maximise revenues from a tournament that has become its biggest money spinner. 

This has been the trend since 2010, the year Fifa stopped sharing revenues from broadcasting rights, sponsorships, ticketing and merchandising with the host nation. This move left the sporting body open to hosting offers from countries that could foot the enormous bill to build stadiums and related infrastructure rather than those with strong footballing credentials. The award of the 2018 tournament to Russia, four years after Vladimir Putin had invaded Crimea, was the first signal of Fifa’s amorality. The selection of Qatar, a nation with zero footballing credentials and even fewer democratic ones, in 2022, resulted from rampant vote-buying and racketeering. But the latest triple-country event, though hosted by three democracies — the United States (US), Canada and Mexico — could not have been farther from Rimetian hopes. 

First, the nation that will host the highest number of matches — 78 of the 104 — has embarked on a  war against Iran, is the world’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and follows a toxic anti-immigration policy. Having awarded US President Donald Trump a bespoke Peace Prize, Fifa has duly obliged its host by revoking ticket allocations for Iranian fans for World Cup matches in the US. The Iranian team had to change its base to Mexico from the US after several members of its delegation, including the head of its football federation, were denied the visa. A Somalian referee was turned away at Miami after 11 hours of interrogation. Many fans from non-white countries can expect similar treatment from the world’s most powerful nation. Others are staying away for fear of random arrests by ICE agents. 

No less egregious are ticket prices. Group stage prices are not only twice as expensive as they were in Qatar four years ago, but the introduction of dynamic and secondary pricing facilities on the Fifa website has seen ticket rates reach astronomical levels, literally pricing out the average fan. Ticket prices for the final stand at over $7,500, more than four times the price of the 2022 final. By comparison a season ticket for the much-watched English Premier League (19 games) is $900 and a ticket on secondary sale for the popular UEFA Champions League cost $348. Ultimately, Fifa risks scoring an own goal by alienating the authentic working-class fans, who have driven the game to greater heights for decades.