September 28: Under pressure, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has hired English advertising agency and marketing guru Sir Martin Sorrell to boost his popularity as he tries to hold on to the presidency for another four years.
FIFA is footing the bill, according to the New York Post, although FIFA has declined to confirm that it has hired the agency.
“Like all major global organisations, FIFA uses suppliers in a number of areas, including communications, to control staffing costs and provide greater flexibility during peak periods,” FIFA told Insideworldfootball.
“For the avoidance of doubt, all FIFA supplier contracts follow internal procedures and are signed by the relevant internal department and not by the FIFA President.”
Infantino, who at various points in his presidency has been criticized for having his personal expenses run through FIFA accounts, sparked a global backlash against his leadership when he tried to sell 20% of FIFA World Cup rights to a private equity fund, Thrive Capital, which was linked to US President Donald Trump. Thrive is run by Josh Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law and US Special Envoy for Peace, Jared Kusher.
UEFA has requested discovery in the United States with a possible criminal case against Infantino being prepared.
Infantino and FIFA have been asked to provide all correspondence and contracts relating to the proposed sale. This would also include any contract surrounding a rumored agreement with Infantino for his continued employment, as well as any details of the commission owed to Infantino for delivering the deal.
It takes one to know one
There is an irony in Infantino hiring Monjos de Sorrell’s agency to repair his battered image and deflect attention from any financial improprieties. Sorrell himself met an acrimonious end to his leadership of the world’s largest advertising agency, WPP.
In April 2018, WPP launched an independent investigation into allegations of personal misconduct and the alleged misuse of company funds. Sorrell resigned, but denied any financial impropriety or wrongdoing.
Infantino has so far refused to resign and, like Sorrell, maintains he has done nothing wrong.
However, Article 25 of FIFA’s code of ethics strictly prohibits employees from deploying FIFA funds for election campaigning.
Using FIFA funds to support his own election campaign would be serious financial misconduct.
“It is demonstrably false to link a supplier contract to the FIFA presidential election,” FIFA said.
“Our supplier services promote FIFA’s activities in all areas, including to new audiences around the world.”
According to the New York Post, a source said, “If this happened in the NFL or the NBA, the commissioner would be fired for lunch. You can’t attack the league’s treasury to protect your own throne.”
Infantino’s annual salary is currently slightly above $6 million per year. That’s about $2 million a year more than the grant a national federation can apply for.
Caribbean weekend
This weekend Infantino was at Caribbean lobby member associations in Jamaica for their support, starting with the controversial Michael Ricketts in Jamaica, where the Reggae Boyz secured a 3-2 win over Guatemala in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Ricketts is becoming a cheerleader for Infantino in the Caribbean, and as someone who has been on the wrong side of the law and can count himself lucky to have had his indiscretions conveniently ignored by FIFA, he seems naturally drawn to support a man potentially facing another criminal investigation: Infantino was investigated for obstruction of justice in Switzerland. Infantino is now accused of trying to defraud FIFA’s member associations by trying to sell FIFA’s commercial rights.
“Infantino might have made a mistake, but the intentions were to help Caribbean countries or help smaller countries. Can you imagine Jamaica getting $40 million to invest in soccer? Can you imagine the difference it would make in four or five years?” Ricketts said.
Where Ricketts gets his $40 million figure is a mystery. But then again, where his Jamaican federation spends the grant money is also a mystery.
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