From a mid-season World Cup to one that is set to take place on three different continents, FIFA president Gianni Infantino seems to be setting a dangerous precedent for football.
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Earlier this week, the head of world football's governing body announced that Morocco, Portugal and Spain's joint bid had won the rights to host the 24th edition of the global showpiece. What was already an audacious bid, a World Cup played across two continents, became even more ludicrous when it turned out that there would be a preamble to the fixtures in Africa and Europe, all the way in South America.
Upon deciding that the aforementioned trio would host the biggest sporting event in the world, FIFA also disclosed that the first three matches of the tournament would be played in the Latin American countries of Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina, before the teams involved in those fixtures would need to travel across the Atlantic Ocean to north Africa and the Iberian Peninsula to see out the rest of their participation.
There are a lot of things wrong with whatever it is that FIFA is trying to achieve with this, and just from a logistical point of view, it makes absolutely no sense for all the teams involved.
If the Swiss-based institution is truly going to commemorate the centenary of the tournament, then it should probably be done in a less disingenuous manner, and have the entire competition be held in South America. However, it seems like Infantino wants to have his cake and eat it too.
The scariest part about all of this, though, is the lengths that the Swiss-born Italian executive is willing to go to appease Saudi Arabia.
Why would we mention the Gulf nation? Because, essentially, that's who this whole 2030 World Cup circus is for. Originally, the Middle Eastern nation had planned to compile a joint bid, alongside Egypt and Greece, for the 2030 showpiece. The bid ceased because Qatar had just hosted the contest, and coupled with other factors, the Saudis ultimately decided to abandon their aspirations for seven years' time.
Instead, shortly after Morocco, Spain and Portugal were confirmed as only the second-ever joint hosts, it was confirmed that Saudi Arabia would submit a bid for the World Cup that would follow. Infantino has claimed that FIFA are committed to having different continents hosting the tournament for every edition, and it would seem that in an attempt to circumvent the fact that Asia just held their own last year, the 50-year-old wanted to expedite the Saudis ambitions of welcoming the world by having three different continents host all at once.
Why the Gulf nation are so intent on holding the competition in their country is an entirely different conversation, but it does seem as though Infantino has his own economic interests at heart before truly being a servant of the beautiful game.
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FIFA has become notorious for receiving kickbacks for votes for prospective host nations, so many can be forgiven for assuming that this could be an instance similar to those which have occurred in the past.
The Saudis are increasing their footprint in the beautiful game through ownership of the world's biggest clubs, investment into their own league, as well as collaborations with federations and leagues, but with FIFA also now seemingly in their back pocket, this could be to football's detriment.
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