Ex-FIFA chief Blatter blasts plan to sell stake in World Cup to investors

FILE PHOTO: Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter arrives at the Swiss Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, Switzerland July 8, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo 29 Jul 2026 10:14PM ZURICH, July 29 : 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. Source: Reuters