The Times They Are A-Changin’: You’ve Got to Fight For Your Right….. 

 

 

“Your mom busted in and said, what’s that noise?
Aw, mom you’re just jealous it’s the Beastie Boys”  

 

 

So, Fifa and its latest dodgy incumbent have got together with an equally dodgy Trumpian US to try and ruin football. 

N.B., for any US readers the game is football not soccer, got it? 

 

 

If I was to review this World Cup, it was ok, more enjoyable than I expected. But we start from a low base. 

Cape Verde were plucky underdogs, England finished third which was about right, France were a delight to watch, and Spain displayed technical excellence as the disciples of the great Johan Cruyff. 

One the downside, there was no Italy, Germany and Brazil were poor and Argentina disgraced themselves. 

The World Cup has lost its magic. Rarely are there great players we don’t know as the majority play  in Europe, and so much is shown on television. 

The great tournaments from 1970-90 had mystery, there were exotic. We had heard of the players but rarely saw them.  

 

• 1970 was Pele and the great Brazil team
• 1974 was Cruyff
• 1978 was Kempes and Argentinian dictators
• 1982 was the uncrowned Brazil downed by the Italy of Rossi et al
• 1986 was Maradona
• 1990 was Pavarotti and Gazza’s tears. 
•  
• 2026 was Trump and Infantino, and violent Argentinians.            

 

Infantino tells us: “We worked tirelessly to unite two countries at war”.  

 

‘Fifa and its latest dodgy incumbent have got together with an equally dodgy Trumpian US to try and ruin football’

 

If he is referring to the US and Iran, he is one of the few who saw it that way. 

Iran’s head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, said his team were the “most oppressed” at the tournament, whilst Iran’s captain, Mehdi Taremi, intimated the US would prefer them not advancing to the knockout stage. 

Eleven of Iran’s wider team, including their federation’s president, Mehdi Taj, were denied visas by the US authorities. 

The US sought to do everything in their power to disrupt their travel arrangements. On the eve of the tournament they were forced to move their training base, relocating from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico. 

Elsewhere, Argentina continued to get the benefit of the doubt, likely due to the fact Messi is the MSL’s big name, benefitting from some very generous referring decisions against Egypt. This was followed by trying to kick England out of the game. They tried the same with Spain who too clever for them. Failing that they had a post-match punch-up. 

We had Infantino caving into Trump, rescinding a red-carded, so that Folarin Balogun was available for the US’s last-16 tie 

 

‘Ronaldo’s pre-tournament red being overturned allowing the old deadbeat one last go at holding his team back!’

 

There was Ronaldo’s pre-tournament red being overturned allowing the old deadbeat one last go at holding his team back!  

Infantino, defended all of this saying: “Sorry that the matches are now over and sorry that you missed all that joy and togetherness. Sorry that you were so consumed by hate and criticism that you missed it all,” 

Now, he’s gone one better, creating Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), to sell all of Fifa’s commercial rights – across broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing – and also take charge of “operational delivery” of Fifa tournaments. It would focus all Fifa’s money-making endeavours in one place and the governing body would “retain sole control of FFE”, but it would also “invite third parties to make minority, non-controlling investments”. These investors “would be selected against clear long-term, governance, and strategic criteria”. 

 

‘ Now, he’s gone one better, creating Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), to sell all of Fifa’s commercial rights’

 

Things become even murkier as the proposed lead investor taking a stake in FFE would be Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared. 

Fifa has worked with JP Morgan to set-up FFE. The bank seems determined to get its claws into football, and we underwriting the abortive European Super League. 

Fifa is focussing on the financial benefits on offer to its member’s, with  promises of an “optional” $20m in extra funding to any nation that wants it. There is also the promise of an increase in annual disbursements and predicted a total of $10bn in extra funding to be shared around.  

Many smaller footballing nations depend on Fifa, a fact that Infantino plays on, saying that without them “there would be no football in 150 countries in the world”.  

These are the members that Infantino will be relying on rushing his proposals. All of these FAs, are outside Europe. 

 

‘All of this is covered in Trump’s sticky, money-grabbing fingers’  

 

 

All of this has left a lot of people unhappy, including our new PM and our own FA.  

Europe’s football body, Uefa, has accused Fifa of attempting to sell football’s soul and is holding emergency talks to plan a coordinated response that could involve legal action. 

“The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade – especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not Fifa’s to sell.” 

All of this is covered in Trump’s sticky, money-grabbing fingers.  

Personally, I see no reason to even involve the US in football, their league is a home to also-rans and those seeking to top-up their retirement funds. No one serious go’s there.  

Uefa is football’s powerbase, representing football’s most powerful continent, which is a sporting behemoth that has eaten up any competition on the pitch and through the financial clout of its institutions.  

All that is required is strong action from Uefa, it major members, and their governments  to render any plan to sell off football’s crown jewels untenable. 

The top-players are all in Europe. 

 

“The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade’

 

This is true of Lat Am countries such as Brazil and Argentina, whose clubs simply lack the finances to keep their players. It might have been true of Santos in the 1960’s, but those days are long gone 

Africa provides some very talented players but they all gravitate to Europe. 

As Trump knows money and power talks and he and Infantino don’t have it. 

If they persist Uefa should break away. We already have the Euro’s so the players can get a break from major international tournaments every 2-yrs. 

Leave Fifa JPM, and Kushner with the rest; Argentina versus Cape Verde will make a great World Cup final, if you like that sort of thing!   

 

“Yankee dollar talk
To the dictators of the world”  

 

This is a totally unscheduled piece, and one that makes me very angry.

FIFA has for a long time been the home of dodgy money-grabbers, but they were never this obvious.

Infantino is selling the game for the yankee dollar.

Trump’s in-laws the Kushners, are just the latest of his courtiers to dip their beaks deep into the greed trough.

America has lots its soul; gone are Lou Reed, Tennessee Williams, Rothko, Bob Dylan, et al, replaced by Messrs Trump, Bezos, Musk and co..

The court of King Donald understands only money and power.

In the US, both money and power have distorted and taken over their sports: netball, rounders, basketball, baseball, girlie rugby, American Football.

Their attempted takeover of world football could and should fail.

The money and power lie with UEFA. Europe has the best leagues, the best teams, the most money, and the best players.

Yes, great players come from Latin America and Africa, but they play their club football in Europe.

If this means UEFA breaking away from FIFA, so be it.

A major international tournament every two years is too much. The players are overplayed and injured, and the clubs paying them a fortune suffer.

There is a very simple truth: the fans of major clubs rarely care about international football, it is a distraction from the main event. A friend of mine said it would “be nice” if England won the World Cup, when he had been in a state of high anxiety until his team won the PL.

Donald, Infantino, go and do one!

Lyrically, we start with “You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)” by the Beastie Boys, and end with “I’m So Bored With the U.S.A.” by The Clash – enjoy!

 @coldwarsteve

 

Philip Gilbert is a city-based corporate financier, and former investment banker.

Philip is a great believer in meritocracy, and in the belief that if you want something enough you can make it happen. These beliefs were formed in his formative years, of the late 1970s and 80s

Click on the link to see all Brexit Bulletins: