A report published by the newspaper “The New York TimesThe American newspaper, on Wednesday, shed light on the role played by the President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), Swiss Gianni Infantino, which continued for years, in order to ensure that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia obtains the right to host the 2034 World Cup.
FIFA announced at the end of last month that Saudi Arabia had become the only candidate to host the World Cup for the 2034 edition, after Australia withdrew. The decision is expected to be officially issued within the next year.
Infantino’s efforts began in the fall of 2020 in the midst of the Corona epidemic crisis, according to the newspaper.
At that time, Infantino visited Rome and met with the Italian Prime Minister at the time, Giuseppe Conte, where he confirmed to reporters that he discussed with him the issue of football’s recovery after the closures as a result of the epidemic.
The newspaper says that Infantino did not mention the other pressing issue that he came to discuss with Italian officials, as he offered them, behind closed doors, to host the World Cup in partnership with Saudi Arabia.
The newspaper adds that Infantino surprised the Italians by revealing himself as a player in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to organize the largest football tournament in the world.
The FIFA President informed Italian officials that Saudi Arabia has already obtained Egypt’s support, and is now looking for a European partner to hold a unique tournament to be held on three continents in 2030.
The newspaper quotes Pietro Benassi, the chief diplomatic advisor to the Italian Prime Minister at the time, as saying that the Italian reaction to Infantino’s proposal was initially “diplomatic, and within a few hours it was negative and I informed him of my rejection.”
The newspaper says that such a sporting partnership between Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Italy was “politically impossible” given the tense relations with Cairo due to the killing of the young Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni in Cairo in 2016, as well as the result of anger against Saudi Arabia after the assassination of journalist Gal Khashoggi.
“During the years that followed his visit to Rome, Infantino also presented the idea of joint Saudi hosting to Greece, as well as supported the multi-million dollar investments made by Saudi Arabia in the field of football, and also helped change the rules related to determining the host country for the World Cup in order to ensure Saudi Arabia’s victory,” according to the statement. For the newspaper.
The newspaper states that “Infantino’s hidden efforts have left many in the football field concerned about his motives, and wondering whether he is using his position to prioritize the interests of FIFA or the interests of a friend who is exploiting his wealth to exert influence in the sport.”
In response to these accusations, a FIFA spokesman denied to the newspaper that any irregularities had occurred regarding the selection of the host country.
The spokesman added: “The FIFA World Cup venues are selected through an open and transparent bidding process. Infantino did not raise or initiate any discussions about Saudi Arabia’s offer with potential partners.”
But the newspaper says that, however, the speed and secrecy with which FIFA dealt with the rights to host the 2030 and 2034 World Cups has raised criticism about the way football is managed, and how the most important decisions are now being made by a small group of senior executives, led by Infantino, who Then it is approved by a subject board of directors.
The newspaper describes Infantino as an enthusiastic ally of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, noting that in 2018, for example, he surprised members of the FIFA Board of Directors when he demanded approval to conclude a deal to hold new competitions with investors whose identity he refused to reveal.
The newspaper says that after the collapse of the deal, it became clear that the group behind the offer is SoftBank, which considers Saudi Arabia among its largest backers.
Three years later, Infantino angered many in football when he said that FIFA was studying a proposal, presented by the Saudi Federation, to hold the World Cup every two years.
In 2021, Infantino discussed the idea of joint hosting of the World Cup between Saudi Arabia, Greece and Egypt with the Greek Prime Minister on the sidelines of a United Nations meeting in September 2021, according to the newspaper, which indicated that this idea was abandoned after Morocco joined Spain and Portugal in the bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
The newspaper says that Saudi Arabia shifted its focus after realizing that the Spanish-Portuguese-Moroccan proposal would likely overcome an offer submitted by four South American countries.
She adds that the Saudis realized that they could benefit from FIFA rules that prevent countries from Europe and Africa from competing in the 2034 tournament when the bidding process began, given that the two continents will host the previous edition.
FIFA then made two curious moves, the first, according to the newspaper, when it suddenly announced that the first three matches of the 2030 World Cup would be held in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to celebrate the centenary of the start of the World Cup.
This led to South America joining the bid of Portugal, Spain and Morocco, and excluding another continent from the qualified applicants to host the 2034 World Cup.
The second step was another surprise announcement regarding the postponement of the bidding process for the 2034 tournament by at least three years, which reduced the number of countries that could submit their bids.
The newspaper adds that FIFA gave interested countries only 25 days to submit their files, which for most countries represented an impossible period of time, because such a step requires massive government support and planning that takes years.
At the time, Infantino announced that there had been “broad consultations” regarding the decision, but Norwegian Football Association President Lise Klavenes told the newspaper that she only learned of the matter when the official statement regarding the country nominated to host the 2034 World Cup was issued.
2023-11-15 18:16:59
#hidden #friend #work #ensure #Saudi #Arabia #hosts #World #Cup
