In the FIFA bunker they felt the blow and immediately jumped into the nets to do damage control. After the leak of its new and mysterious financial tentacle, baptized as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), alarms went off in the football business worldwide.
The response from Zurich was immediate: they released a statement with the crisis manual in hand, ensuring that the media understood everything wrong and releasing a phrase for the tribune: “No one is selling football.” Of course, because in Gianni Infantino's offices the love of art and romanticism always come first, right?
Infantino's new “goose that lays the golden eggs”
Behind the pompous name of the FFE lies a rather bold maneuver. The idea is to move all commercial activities and the organization of tournaments to a subsidiary company. According to them, FIFA will maintain permanent control. According to skeptics, it is the perfect gateway for foreign investment funds to get their hands on the most lucrative business on the planet.
To shake off the pressure, the organization accused the press of “interrupting” its democratic process with erroneous reports. A classic whiteboard play: blaming the messenger when they catch your draft early.
The price of silence: A lot of wool on the table
As FIFA knows perfectly well that money moves mountains—and softens wills—the statement came with a tempting offer of peace for the 2027-2030 cycle. The strategy to convince managers is to give them a million dollars in two juicy steps.
First there is the mandatory bait, which consists of $20 million for each of the 211 member associations (including the FMF, of course) under the concept of FIFA Forward Development. The great detail is that they are going to give them to you whether you support the project or not. A subtle way to calm the waters.
Next comes the voluntary jackpot: another 20 million extra greenbacks through the FIFA Fast Forward program. This money would come from external investors, but FIFA swears and lies that they are not going to give up even a millimeter of power. You'd have to be very naive to believe that a tycoon is going to put up that fortune out of pure philanthropy or love of the shirt.
The game of old-fashioned “democracy”
The ending of the statement is pure political poetry. FIFA sent a message to UEFA and the richest confederations, reminding them that they do not represent everyone and that each of the 211 members has one vote. It is the ideal scenario for the organization: to convince the smallest federations that need the budget with the check for 40 million dollars, in order to crush any rebellion by the European powers.
The ball is in play and the draft remains open to debate. They say that if the plan does not pass, everything stays the same and no company is created. But the letter has already been shown, the millionaire bait has been launched and, no matter how much they swear that football does not sell, it seems that the box office is already open.
