Enrico Heidelberg

What Infantino is proposing is interesting. In principle, it makes sense to separate the commercial business of football from the regulation of the game. That is generally regarded as good governance. The problem is that there is no independent regulator to insulate. FIFA is its 211 member associations. And those same members have been offered a share of the proceeds from the sale they are being asked to approve. FIFA's defence is that investors will hold only a minority, non-controlling stake with no operational role. That may be true, but it misses the point. A fiduciary interest does not have to intervene to shape decisions. It constrains them. Every future decision on the calendar, competition frequency, tournament format, or even how much a safeguard is allowed to cost, will now have to account for a stakeholder whose financial interests carry legal weight. No direct interference is required. Now consider who does not have standing. Not FIFPRO. Not the fans. Not the residents of host cities. Not even the players, who represent their countries for honour rather than as employees, cannot be transferred between nations, cannot negotiate the terms under which they play, and cannot realistically refuse selection. Yet it is their unmarketed commitment that is being valued at twenty billion dollars. This structure creates the only stakeholder in football with a legally enforceable claim on the game: American Investors. Every other stakeholder has relied on representation rather than enforceable rights. FIFA represents its member associations, and the member associations are expected to represent the interests of the game. That chain has always been imperfect, but it was the closest thing football had to accountability. Now that chain of representation has been priced. Forty million for a yes vote. Ten million for a no vote. The duty a federation owes its own players is placed in direct tension with a financial payment contingent on approving the transaction. That is not a conflict of interest FIFA must manage. It is one FIFA has deliberately created. Finally, consider the sequence. The vote takes place at Congress in Morocco in March but the funding commitment must be made by September. A conflicted decision-maker is being asked to decide quickly. That should concern everyone.