Former England manager Sam Allardyce has criticised FIFA’s controversial plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors and said it will harm the game.
He told GB News: “The World Cup’s funded and globally big enough to create as much money as needed to keep it in-house, not to sell it off or franchise it off to private equity companies.
“Of course the damage that we might see that can be done to the game, the beautiful game, by private equity companies getting involved is they just want to make money, as much money as they possibly can.
“FIFA are fine. UEFA just need to stay strong this time. They can’t be bought, and say they can’t be bought, and threaten to boycott, which would be the biggest thing we’ve seen for a long time in football.
“But it’s the right thing to do. It’s a bit like when the Premier League wanted to try and break away a few years ago with other clubs, and it got blocked by the outrage in this country, and certainly by the outrage in the European countries, particularly. I think it’s right.
“The last World Cup was a bit of a disaster. I don’t think it was one of the best. I think there were too many teams, too much interference.
“Even the final, the halftime fiasco, when it went overtime before they kicked off again, I think it went five minutes overtime, this is purely for extra money, and I think that that that is a shame. Imagine what the fan will have to pay for the next World Cup if this is the case.”
Asked if a boycott could really include one of the host nations of the 2030 World Cup, he said: “Let’s hope they’re brave enough to do it.
“Political pressure might come upon the Spanish FA because the money that they might make, so that might be a case where politically the pressure comes from the government to make the Spanish FA waver.
“If we don’t all stick together and this goes through, it’ll be an absolute disaster in my opinion.”
