How Cory Doctorow's enshittification framework explains how four days in July turned a funding proposal into a question about who owns the World Cup, and why it matters.
Really appreciate the walk through and connection with the trend of enshittification. A bit of a different read than the usual takes that have come over the past week.
Thanks for the kind words! I wanted to take a different angle on the "whys" behind the massive news of the tensions between Infantino, FIFA, and UEFA. It's a warning sign that seems resolved for now, but it points to more issues down the road.
Nice. The twist worth adding is the missing shareholder you flag: FIFA has none, and it didn't need the money. Strip those out and what FFE was buying was a longer run at the top for one man, which makes your closing question the right one: the structure, not just him.
Absolutely, and some reports highlight an interesting point: the rationale for launching FFE is that the World Cup, as a commercial product, isn’t leveraging enough debt to scale as massively as the NFL. But the structural dynamics are completely different. Pitching this strategy to the broader FIFA membership (the MAs) would be seen as a crazy endeavour, but routing it through a single point of contact like Infantino would streamline the entire process.
But what actually gets levered. The World Cup throws off reliable TV and sponsorship money, around $10bn each time, and FIFA could bond against it tomorrow. The NFL does that, but its owners borrow to grow equity they can eventually sell. FIFA has no owners, so scaling that value serves nobody, unless the point is to create a stake worth selling? Which is what FFE was building.
To sum up, tyrant leader has head turned by big business venture run by another tyrant leader who sells the idea of everyone earning more by giving more which traps others into thinking they all get so damn rich their asses shit dollar bills! Truth is... Not everyone's life revolves around selling their soul for a quick fix! We all have a price, yes, but some of us value other things more than money, just like that farmer on the M62 who never budged despite them building a motorway through his home!!!
It’s an interesting point you bring up because it gets at the core idea of Enshittification: we don’t need to settle for lower quality. Audiences (or customers, in his case) need to demand what they deserve and refuse to back down.
Thanks for sharing! I agree with your point: "This is not the end of selling the World Cup. Not by a long shot. It is simply the end of trying to sell it this way." What I wonder is how much time we have, and what the definitive way will be, if it ever happens. As of today, the voting system looks fragile, and it's probably the first thing MAs need to consider.
This is also a good reminder of why investigative journalism still matters in football (and elsewhere). FIFA’s plans did not unravel because its governance structures identified the problem themselves but because a journalist brought them into the open, allowing others to scrutinise and challenge what was being proposed.
At a time when football institutions are becoming larger, richer and more powerful, the people willing to ask difficult questions about what happens behind closed doors have rarely been more important.
Really appreciate the walk through and connection with the trend of enshittification. A bit of a different read than the usual takes that have come over the past week.
Thanks for the kind words! I wanted to take a different angle on the "whys" behind the massive news of the tensions between Infantino, FIFA, and UEFA. It's a warning sign that seems resolved for now, but it points to more issues down the road.
Agreed. Probably escaped this round but fear for the next.
Nice. The twist worth adding is the missing shareholder you flag: FIFA has none, and it didn't need the money. Strip those out and what FFE was buying was a longer run at the top for one man, which makes your closing question the right one: the structure, not just him.
Absolutely, and some reports highlight an interesting point: the rationale for launching FFE is that the World Cup, as a commercial product, isn’t leveraging enough debt to scale as massively as the NFL. But the structural dynamics are completely different. Pitching this strategy to the broader FIFA membership (the MAs) would be seen as a crazy endeavour, but routing it through a single point of contact like Infantino would streamline the entire process.
But what actually gets levered. The World Cup throws off reliable TV and sponsorship money, around $10bn each time, and FIFA could bond against it tomorrow. The NFL does that, but its owners borrow to grow equity they can eventually sell. FIFA has no owners, so scaling that value serves nobody, unless the point is to create a stake worth selling? Which is what FFE was building.
That's a realistic scenario. We'll see how it plays out!
To sum up, tyrant leader has head turned by big business venture run by another tyrant leader who sells the idea of everyone earning more by giving more which traps others into thinking they all get so damn rich their asses shit dollar bills! Truth is... Not everyone's life revolves around selling their soul for a quick fix! We all have a price, yes, but some of us value other things more than money, just like that farmer on the M62 who never budged despite them building a motorway through his home!!!
It’s an interesting point you bring up because it gets at the core idea of Enshittification: we don’t need to settle for lower quality. Audiences (or customers, in his case) need to demand what they deserve and refuse to back down.
The idea is off the table but ultimately it will happen
https://substack.com/@derekross/note/p-210046477?r=7oi75c&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Thanks for sharing! I agree with your point: "This is not the end of selling the World Cup. Not by a long shot. It is simply the end of trying to sell it this way." What I wonder is how much time we have, and what the definitive way will be, if it ever happens. As of today, the voting system looks fragile, and it's probably the first thing MAs need to consider.
This is also a good reminder of why investigative journalism still matters in football (and elsewhere). FIFA’s plans did not unravel because its governance structures identified the problem themselves but because a journalist brought them into the open, allowing others to scrutinise and challenge what was being proposed.
At a time when football institutions are becoming larger, richer and more powerful, the people willing to ask difficult questions about what happens behind closed doors have rarely been more important.