By John Revill
ZURICH, July 29 (Reuters) – Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter on Wednesday slammed the football governing body’s plans to create a $20 billion subsidiary to run the World Cup, saying the tournament was not a commercial asset that belonged to a few executives.
“Football belongs to no individual and to no institution. It belongs to the people,” Blatter told Reuters.
“If FIFA were transferred into a profit-oriented corporate structure, it would lose its soul,” added Blatter, who was FIFA president for 17 years until 2015.
FIFA said on Tuesday it plans to create the subsidiary to run the World Cup and its other events, and will offer stakes of up to 20% in it to external investors.
The move has provoked a furious response from European football authorities, including UEFA, which said FIFA was putting the game up for sale.
Blatter said the World Cup should not become an investment product for private equity with investors seeking returns.
“The FIFA World Cup is not a commercial asset that belongs to a handful of executives,” he said. “It is part of the cultural heritage of world football.”
“FIFA is the guardian of the World Cup, not its owner.”
Blatter said he was shocked at the idea, adding he would never have considered it when he ran FIFA.
Investors pursuing influence and profits ran contrary to associations that follow the interests of their members, he said.
“Modern football has survived for more than a century because it belongs to the people,” said Blatter. “That principle should never change.”
(Reporting by John RevillEditing by Dave Graham)
