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Jonathan White

Fifa will revive controversial plans for an expanded Club World Cup and a new international tournament when its ruling council meets in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday.
The new competitions were raised in April by Fifa president Gianni Infantino and outlined to Fifa members in a letter in May.
Key to the joint venture is an offer of US$25 billion from a consortium including Japanese conglomerate SoftBank and investors from China, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
The presence of Saudi Arabian backing has made headlines in Western media outlets, adding further controversy to the radical reforms.

Infantino’s plans threaten to rip Fifa apart, with Uefa members opposed to the reforms.
The 60-day deadline from the consortium had to be extended to ensure the World Cup would go ahead smoothly and the plans were not on the agenda at Fifa’s congress in Moscow on the eve of the tournament.
Outgoing Premier League boss Richard Scudamore called the Club World Cup “a competition too far” but Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin pulled no punches in a May speech to EU sports ministers in Brussels, accusing his predecessor Infantino of selling the soul of football.
Fifa World Cup: fans confused over Chinese companies despite huge presence in Russia
“I cannot accept that some people who are blinded by the pursuit of profit are considering to sell the soul of football tournaments to nebulous private funds,” he said.
“Money does not rule – and the European sports model must be respected. Football is not for sale. I will not let anyone sacrifice its structures on the altar of a highly cynical and ruthless mercantilism.’’

The proposed reforms would see a 24-team Club World Cup, with half of the teams from Europe, in a move that could present a direct threat to the power of the Uefa Champions League.
The current Club World Cup format features seven teams with the next edition set to take place in the UAE in December. The tournament brings in US$27 million in revenue each year.
As Fifa World Cup comes to an end, Chinese interest in club version is back on the agenda as Gianni Infantino meets Jack Ma
The other competition would be a Nations League, an international tournament staged every two years, modelled off the format Uefa has just introduced.
Fifa would retain a 51 per cent share of the joint venture.
Infantino has courted support from the confederations outside of Europe with the expansion of the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams from the 2026 edition.

Fifa has been working with London-based firm Centricus to bring on backers for these new competitions.
Investment at the summer’s World Cup included a large number of Chinese firms such as Wanda Group alongside Hisense and Mengniu.
During the World Cup, Infantino met with Alibaba owner Jack Ma to discuss the prospect of hosting the Club World Cup in China next year. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
It is understood Friday’s meeting will not include a vote on the formats of the tournament but Infantino may seek approval of the move to introduce them.


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Fifa

Fifa Club World Cup showdown: Uefa to block Gianni Infantino’s US$25 billion shakeup, Nations League plans

Fifa President Gianni Infantino speaks with participants of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) meeting in Moscow, Russia. Photo: AP

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin shows the name of Germany elected to host the Euro 2024 fooball tournament during a ceremony on September 27, 2018 at the headquarters of the European football's governing body in Nyon. - UEFA selected the host of the 2024 European Championship today in a vote pitting a safe German bid against a riskier Turkish proposal that offers a chance to explore new terrain. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

epa06891795 Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and FIFA president Gianni Infantino react next to the FIFA World Cup 2018 trophy after the FIFA World Cup 2018 final between France and Croatia in Moscow, Russia, 15 July 2018. (RESTRICTIONS APPLY: Editorial Use Only, not used in association with any commercial entity - Images must not be used in any form of alert service or push service of any kind including via mobile alert services, downloads to mobile devices or MMS messaging - Images must appear as still images and must not emulate match action video footage - No alteration is made to, and no text or image is superimposed over, any published image which: (a) intentionally obscures or removes a sponsor identification image; or (b) adds or overlays the commercial identification of any third party which is not officially associated with the FIFA World Cup) EPA-EFE/YURI KOCHETKOV EDITORIAL USE ONLY EPA-EFE/YURI KOCHETKOV EDITORIAL USE ONLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Russian President Vladimir Putin watch the ceremony prior to the Russia 2018 World Cup Group A football match between Russia and Saudi Arabia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on June 14, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / SPUTNIK / Alexey DRUZHININ

Sport

Football


President’s proposal backed by money from SoftBank, China and Saudi Arabia
Plans shelved before World Cup but back on the agenda at Rwanda meeting



Fifa Club World Cup showdown: Uefa to block Gianni Infantino’s US$25 billion shakeup, Nations League plans

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} President’s proposal backed by money from SoftBank, China and Saudi Arabia Plans shelved before World Cup but back on the agenda at Rwanda meeting

President’s proposal backed by money from SoftBank, China and Saudi Arabia

Plans shelved before World Cup but back on the agenda at Rwanda meeting