Fifa's Proposed Tournament Stake Sale Triggers UEFA Boycott Threat Amid US Finance Expansion

Fifa’s proposed ⁠sale of a private stake in its tournament business, including the World Cup, reflects the expanding reach of US-style sports finance, including private equity, into global football, Roger Bennett, the CEO and founder of the Men in Blazers Media Network, said.

The plan has triggered a major confrontation with European football less than two weeks after a World Cup held primarily in the US.

Uefa’s 55 ‌member associations voted unanimously on Thursday to boycott Fifa tournaments if the proposal proceeds, saying the World Cup “cannot be treated as an investment product.”

Bennett said the dispute offered a stark early test of the game’s emerging “American century,” as US capital plays an increasingly influential role across the sport.

“Going into this World Cup, it was talked about how football is entering its American century as a global enterprise,” Bennett, one of the most prominent voices on football in the US, said.

“The amount of American investment in every facet of the game is going to shape it. And ⁠for this to happen within two weeks of the end of the World Cup, I’d say is an epic test of that. I’ve always said that’s ‌for good and for bad.”