Colin Bittner: Week 2 Blogpost
The group that I was in read about Gianni Infantino and his relationship with Donald Trump and other powerful political leaders, as well as another article about the extreme increase in ticket prices of the World Cup Games being held in America compared to other games that were being held in Qatar in 2022.
“Perhaps this is why Infantino looks so comfortable in the company of the rich and powerful.”
I chose this quote to highlight the shared trait and connection between these articles as well as to really drive home the point of what these articles are trying to touch on. Infantino, as the president of FIFA, has worked continuously to do two major things: To grow the game of Soccer into more markets, and make more money. This is backed up by his upheld relationship with Donald Trump and the selection of the Americas for the 2026 World Cup, as well as the gouged prices of seats for these games because of the “higher market” that America and it’s neighboring countries has. He is attracted to what he can do to make these goals of his come true. The expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams for this tournament also supports the claim of expanding the World Cup and FIFA into a higher market, exposing more countries at once to the biggest event in Soccer. All of these factors tie into the profit margin of FIFA, the nonprofit, to put back into the expansion of the resources available to clubs across the globe. This is the public claim, but these kinds of politicizing and diplomatic tactics are out of the ordinary for a nonprofit, and raises questions about the legitimacy of the financial integrity of the FIFA organization. This is combined with the prior knowledge of FIFA’s previous president’s corruption scandal and the racketeering and money laundering of referees.
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