FIFA is about football, not money

The FIFA president responded to the criticism and stressed that the organization does not seek to steal or profit from competitions with more teams.

head of the FIFA, Gianni Infantinothat ” FIFA It is about football, but not money” and that what he earns goes to 211 federations, in response to criticism that he has created a new competition, such as clubs World Cup At 32, he’s only doing it for profit.

After being re-elected by acclamation on Thursday at 73 FIFA Congress in Kigali, Infantino He rebuked the media for this conclusion during a press conference that began with a monologue in defense of the organization he had headed for seven years, in which he asked why “some of the information was harsh”.

“We worked hard, we don’t steal, we don’t win. Some write that it’s only about money, that we are a rich organization that proposes new competition only for the sake of profit, FIFA He deals with football but not with money, we need money to contribute to a truly global football,” he said.

for example, Infantino Indicates that the English “Prime Minister” is born in what year FIFA In 4 “, with the difference that the first distributes what is generated mainly among the twenty English clubs and FIFA’s money goes to the 211 federations”, since Ethiopia to Nepalpasses Bolivian“.

“But to be able to generate 7,000 million a year like”leading’ Clubs play 380 matches a year, about 50 for each club. new clubs World Cup Which equates to 50-60 matches, we are talking about one match per year for each club. The average for each choice in world There were 4 matches and 7 champions and with them we can finance the development of football all over the world. Whyleadingare you congratulations We want to give more chances to teams who don’t play enough matches, and that’s why I don’t understand this attack.”

He also stressed that now, compared to the past, in FIFA Every dollar is audited, which before was only audited at 10% and now 100% by external auditors” He noted that it was the only organization that during the health crisis had to eliminate competition, because in 2021 it was unable to implement a championship confederate.

“Someone told me that FIFA He’s the footballer’s Robin Hood, maybe a little bit… The difference is we don’t steal from the rich to give to the poor. We have worked hard to show that FIFA is on the right track. The vast majority think I’m doing well, including V.I Europe. Journalists have a duty to be impartial and correct.

Regarding the controversy arising from the prospect of sponsorship Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Women’s World Cup Australia And New Zealand This year, the president has acknowledged that he has held talks, although no contract has been concluded.

“All states are the same, nothing bad will happen, and there is nothing wrong with that Arabia, China, the United States, India… can serve as sponsors. We are an organization of international scope. Australia It traded with Saudi Arabia for another hundred years, it doesn’t seem to be a problem and when we talk about companies it shouldn’t make a difference. It’s a double standard that I don’t understand at all.”