Free Republic

FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s plan to create a $20 billion company running the World Cup with private investors including the Kushner family was announced Tuesday — and immediately attacked by European soccer body UEFA. “It is not FIFA’s to sell,” UEFA said in a statement. “None of us are the owners of football.” Infantino’s plans to form a commercial subsidiary, which would be called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), running competitions like the World Cup and Club World Cup was first reported by The Times of London. FIFA said in a statement FFE would raise up to $4.2 billion later this...

European soccer body UEFA is moving toward a vote to suspend its member federation Israel over the war in Gaza, people familiar with the proposal told The Associated Press on Thursday. A majority of the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) 20-member executive committee is expected to support any vote in favor of suspending Israeli teams from international play, two sources told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. Such a step would prevent Israeli national and clubs teams from playing in international competitions including next year's World Cup. Israel's men's team is...

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has launched a stinging attack on the West on the eve of the World Cup for criticizing Qatar for its poor human rights record. In an hour-long speech, the Swiss-Italian 52-year-old said European critics were misrepresenting the host nation and that everyone is welcome. “Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel a migrant worker,” he said. “Of course I am not Qatari, Arab, gay or disabled. But I was the son of a migrant worker, saw their conditions. Not in...