WORLD football governing body Fifa will give each of its 209 affiliates $750 000 from the profits of the 2014 World Cup which starts in Brazil today.
SPORTS REPORTER/GUARDIAN
Each of the six confederations will get $7 million each, according to reports from the last day of the 64th Fifa Congress that was taking place ahead of the football showpiece.
This will come as good news to cash-strapped Zifa, who were represented at the Congress by its president Cuthbert Dube, vice-president Omega Sibanda and chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze.
The trio will have the opportunity to watch tonight’s opening match between Brazil and Croatia before returning home over the weekend.
Fifa reported yesterday that the organisation, which will realise a $2 billion profit from this year’s event, has $3,165 billion of assets and $1,432 billion in reserve. The 2015-2018 projected revenue is $5 billion, it said.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter yesterday shrugged off the corruption claims engulfing the organisation by joking that it would expand its mission to other planets.
In his address to the Fifa Congress the day before the Brazil World Cup kicks off, Blatter said: “We shall wonder if one day our game is played on another planet? Why not? Then we will have not only a World Cup we will have inter-planetary competitions. Why not?”
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
But there was no mention of the controversy surrounding the Qatar 2022 World Cup that has caused a wave of concern from sponsors, the media and politicians. Instead, he referred to Fifa’s ability to inspire hope.
“Fifa is shaping society. My vision for Fifa in this changing world is that we must become one of today’s pioneers of hope,” Blatter said.
“We must carry that flame of honesty, responsibility and always of respect. If not, we will betray the spirit of this game we love.”
Fifa was under scrutiny only because football was so popular around the world and the World Cup had become “a platform for change and an opportunity for national and international debate”.
The Fifa president, preparing the way to stand for another four-year term as president despite opposition from Uefa, said that he “supported the right to peaceful protest and freedom of speech”.
Brazilians have taken to the streets to protest at the $11bn cost of the World Cup, which delivers $4bn in revenues to Fifa, and the modus operandi of world football’s governing body.
“Football is about freedom, equality and respect. People have the right to want a better world for their children to grow up in,” Blatter said in his speech to the 209 member associations.
“Football should be a force for positive change in the world and not an obstructor to it. And so should Fifa.”
Proclaiming a philosophy of “hope, faith and love”, the 78-year-old is expected to stand again for his fifth term as president in 2015.
“The World Cup, our flagship, is growing and becoming more successful. So is football in general and it won’t stop,” he insisted.
