Gianni Infantino’s big World Cup sale and Fifa’s race to the bottom line
In today’s newsletter: Fifa and an investment idea so egregious, even Sepp Blatter is chiming in
FIFA UNITES THE WORLD
We begin Football Daily’s 29 July 2026 edition with a trip back to 26 February 2016. Gianni Infantino has been elected as the new Fifa president on a promise to clean up a disgraced organisation. “A good day for football,” says the FA director, David Gill. “A good day for the sport,” concurs the American Fifa executive committee member, Sunil Gulati. “Who’s that bald loser on the news?” says an unnamed Republican candidate.
Infantino’s message is simple. “Fifa has gone through sad times, moments of crisis. But those times are over. We enter now a new era. We’ll restore the image of Fifa and make sure you will be happy with what we do.” Infantino, whose pitch included a boast that he had vastly increased Uefa’s revenues, promised to address Fifa’s $550m (£414m) financial black hole. “It’s your money, not the money of the Fifa president,” he said. “The money of Fifa has to be used to develop football … I’m a candidate of the whole world and football. We have to build bridges, not walls.”
We’re tempted to leave it at that, as we’re quietly confident you get the message, but editorial norms dictate we should talk about the news that Fifa is seeking private investment in the World Cup and the rest of its competitions. Big Website has done an explainer and everything. The proposed investment is in excess of £7.5bn and, according to a Fifa statement, would be used to expand the net worth of Infantino and Joshua Kushn – we beg your pardon, we completely misread that. We forgot to meditate, pray and chill this morning, so our focus isn’t as good as it could be. The Fifa statement says the money will be used to “expand football development funding”. Fifa’s money does not belong to its president – Infantino said it himself in 2016.
Look, we all know football is about the bottom line. Money doesn’t just talk; it never shuts up. In that context, it’s some achievement for Infantino and friends to come up with an idea so egregious that almost everyone in football has responded with: “Bit much, mate.” Uefa, Concacaf and the FA are among those who have strongly criticised the proposals. Uefa’s 55 members are to hold an emergency meeting, with a potential World Cup boycott on the table. Just 10 days ago, Ferran Torres scored the winning goal in the Geopolitics World Cup final, a moment of pure euphoria that would be worth gazillions if only you could bottle it. But you can’t. At its best, football revives the child in all of us. Whatever the linguists tell you, there’s no infant in Infantino.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Football belongs to no individual and to no institution. It belongs to the people. If Fifa were transferred into a profit-oriented corporate structure, it would lose its soul” – former Fifa president and man of the people Sepp Blatter weighs in on plans to sell off the World Cup.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
“I note that, despite the fact that the GWC is over, Football Daily is still arriving in my inbox in the early afternoon. As someone used to it screeching in late like a Djed Spence sliding tackle, I find this disconcerting. Also, the realisation that it isn’t home time yet is almost as disappointing as the contents of the email” – Richard O’Hagan [normal service has resumed, for today at least – Football Daily Ed].
“I think Readng/Readino (yesterday’s full email edition) should turn their grammatical errors into a rebranding opportunity that adds a little continental pizazz. Athletic Readino, Real Readino, Dynamo Readng, Sporting Readino. It’d see people flocking to this bustling, cosmopolitan destination town. Possibly” – Martin Clifford.
“Cancel Football. Too much info” – Peter Craswell.
If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day goes to … Martin Clifford. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.
RECOMMENDED FOLLOWING
Big Website: now on BlueSpace, TikBook, Instachat, you name it.
MOVING THE GOALPOSTS
In this week’s edition of our sister newsletter: Borussia Dortmund are only a third-tier club in the German women’s football pyramid – but that is likely to change with star names such as Alexandra Popp and Manuela Zinsberger signing up this summer. Rich Laverty has more on the black-and-yellow revolution.
NEWS, BITS AND BOBS
The FA has joined in the cacophony of criticism over Fifa’s plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors, report Matt Hughes and Nick Ames.
Abusive chanting against immigrants in English football is on the rise, new data has revealed.
People’s champions Manchester City are leading Premier League opposition to a landmark £1.5bn financial settlement with the EFL, as Matt Hughes reveals.
Liverpool are preparing an opening offer for the Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, with the double Bigger Cup champs valuing him at a cool £145m.
Roberto Mancini has returned as Italy head coach with Claudio Ranieri named technical director, bringing an end to a long-running saga for the Azzurri.
Hearts’ Bigger Cup adventure is over after they lost 2-0 at home to Sturm Graz, completing a 6-0 defeat on aggregate. “I hope everybody starts scoring. It doesn’t matter who, as long as the goals come,” panted head coach Wouter Vrancken.
Common Sense in South America dept: the Internacional defender Víctor Gabriel will be suspended for his leg-breaking tackle on Cruzeiro forward Gabriel Pec … until Pec is fit enough to resume training, Brazil’s superior court of sports justice has ruled.
And this summer just gets worse for Newcastle: it looks like Sunderland are poised to sign long-time target Dayann Methalie from Toulouse, reports Louise Taylor.
PERMANENT MARC-ER
Marc Cucurella has commemorated Spain’s GWC success by getting a tattoo of the trophy. So far, so unremarkable – but the floppy-haired full-back has gone a step further by also inking his coach, Luis de la Fuente, on to his skin as part of a friendly mid-tournament bet. “Promise kept,” Cucurella posted on InstaChat while unveiling a not-entirely-accurate likeness of De la Fuente holding the trophy. If Cucurella ends up in a row with the Spain manager, things could get awkward.
STILL WANT MORE?
Uefa has to show backbone in its coming fight with Fifa over plans to flog the World Cup, writes Nick Ames.
Could Eli Junior Kroupi be on his way to Barcelona? The Rumour Mill has the answer to that, and other such speculative transfer-related questions, right here.
Speaking of transfers, where does each Premier League club need to strengthen before the start of the season? Opta Analyst has some ideas.
Retaining Rodri is the key to Manchester City finding success under Enzo Maresca, reckons Jamie Jackson.
Across town, Michael Carrick’s main issue is getting the best out of Manchester United’s crop of central defenders.
And the Knowledge asks: is Kazuyoshi Miura the oldest goalscorer in competitive football history?
MEMORY LANE
On this day in 1994, Tottenham paid £2m to sign Jürgen Klinsmann in a transfer that reshaped the Premier League. The Germany forward had a reputation for diving, but a self-deprecating celebration on his debut shifted opinion among fans and the media. Klinsmann became a fan favourite for his unflashy ways – and turned up to his first Spurs training session in this beauty, a Volkswagen Beetle. He went on to score 29 goals in 56 games across two separate spells.