76
Lemmy NZ
1,105 readers39 users here now
Rules:
FAQ ~ NZ Community List ~ Join Matrix chatroom ~ Alternate frontends ~ Donate
founded 3 years ago
ADMINS
Welcome to LemmyNZ! Don't be a dick ~ FAQ ~ NZ Community List ~ Join Matrix chatroom ~ Alternate frontends ~ Donate
78
79
81
82
83
84
27
Home Office used ‘AI hallucinated’ information to refuse asylum claim, judge suggests
(www.theguardian.com)
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
Fifa’s president Gianni Infantino is planning to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors under a scheme that could potentially earn him tens of millions of pounds, sources have told The Times.
The plan would lead to a company being formed to control Fifa’s top men’s and women’s competitions, the World Cup and Club World Cup. It could lead to pressure for both events to be further expanded or played more regularly than the present once every four years.
Two sources with knowledge of the discussions said that figures close to the Donald Trump administration have been consulted about the plan. Other sources said that Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared, is seen as the main potential investor along with the bank JP Morgan.
Each of Fifa’s 211 member associations would also be given a stake, perhaps worth about $20million (£15million), which they could retain or sell to raise income for themselves. Sources claim Infantino, 56, would be lined up to run the company as a commissioner once his final presidential term expires — he is set to be re-elected unopposed until 2031.
Sources say figures close to the Trump administration have been consulted about the plan, which could mean Infantino, left, becomes the “commissioner” of a new company
Fifa did not respond when asked to comment.
Fifa is a not-for-profit organisation effectively owned by the 211 associations that make up its membership. As an association of associations, it enjoys a tax-free status in Switzerland where it is based. Its revenue for the 2022-26 cycle is expected to be $15billion, the majority of which comes from TV rights, sponsorship, ticket and hospitality sales from the men’s World Cup this summer.
It means the tournament would be hugely attractive to private investors with the potential for growth by expanding it or holding it more frequently. Infantino said earlier this month that a South American proposal to expand the World Cup to 64 teams would “definitely” be looked at. The number of competing nations was increased from 32 to 48 for this year’s finals in North America.
Other senior figures in football, however, regard the plan as being a potential “nuclear bomb” for the game.
Under the blueprint, which has been discussed among senior Fifa figures and potential investors who have been obliged to sign non-disclosure agreements, Fifa would own a majority stake in the company, private investors would buy 20-30 per cent initially — for multibillions of dollars — and Fifa’s 211 members would each have a small stake as well, totalling about 20 per cent.
Potential investors have talked internally about “buying Fifa”, say sources.
The plan to give individual shares to the 211 members is seen as a way of securing its approval by Fifa’s Congress and Council — for smaller associations the shares would be worth several times their annual revenue — even if there is strong opposition from some areas of football.
Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared, has been cited as the main potential investor
Sources said some non-binding agreements setting out the terms of the arrangement have already been signed.
Infantino’s role could be to become the “commissioner” or chief executive of the new company, once his last presidential term expires in 2031. The salary for that position has not been confirmed but figures close to the plan are said to see it on a par with the NFL, whose chief commissioner earns about $64million a year. That is ten times as much as Infantino’s earnings for the most recent financial year in salary and bonuses.
Fifa would retain power over international football including, significantly, the international match calendar after 2030, but its decisions would have huge influence over the fortunes of the new company.
For example, if Fifa expanded the World Cup from 48 to 64 teams, or held the competition more regularly than every four years, that would inevitably boost the financial value of the company as it would mean vastly increased revenues.
It is not the first time that Infantino has tried to involve private investors and political allies in investing in Fifa’s competitions. In 2018, a $25billon deal with the Japanese bank Softbank, backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, for a new Club World Cup and global Nations League failed to achieve the necessary support. Infantino had reportedly eyed the chairmanship of the organisation that would have been set up to administer that arrangement.
The New York Times reported in June that Fifa officials previously discussed with the former US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin an investment in a streaming service called Fifa +, though nothing materialised and the venture was put on hold.
This summer’s World Cup, won by Spain, was the first to include 48 teams
Infantino has had links with Jared Kushner dating back to before 2018 when the financier was heavily involved in the United States’ successful bid for the 2026 World Cup, but sources in the US said it was seen as being politically more sensitive for his brother Joshua to be the lead potential investor.
If the new venture does go ahead, there are concerns that private investors would put pressure on the men’s World Cup to be staged in countries where commercial success can be maximised. There are also worries that there could be similar pressure for the Club World Cup to be hosted in the Gulf in order to boost its revenues. This would mean interrupting the European domestic leagues, as with the 2022 Qatar World Cup, because it is too hot to hold the tournament during a Gulf summer.
One senior football figure described the plan as “potentially much worse than the European Super League” as it would impact all parts of football across the world
94
7
After 43 Days of Silence, Kentucky’s Dem Governor Calls on McConnell to Prove He Can Serve or Resign
(www.commondreams.org)
After weeks of sitting on his hands, Kentucky's Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear issued an ultimatum to the state's absentee Sen. Mitch McConnell on Tuesday: Prove you're alive and can do the job or step down.
Since he was hospitalized on June 14, McConnell’s 4.6 million constituents have been left with virtually no answers about the 84-year-old Republican’s condition, leading to rampant speculation of a cover-up.
Some even pondered whether the former Senate Republican leader may have shuffled off this mortal coil altogether, but that his staff was keeping mum until the presumptive August 3 deadline to avoid a special election that could lead to suboptimal results for the GOP.
Beshear, who has the power to call a special election to fill vacant Senate seats, had chastized McConnell and his staff for weeks for the lack of transparency about his condition. But he continued to balk about taking action, even as members of his party begged him to "do something."
That is, until Monday, when McConnell's office released an update from his physician, which stated that the senator was undergoing “a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation” but was “not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office.”
Beshear finally sent McConnell a letter demanding proof of life.
"It has now been 43 days since news of your hospitalization," Beshear wrote. "During that time you have cast zero votes, engaged in no official activities, and aside from two photos and corresponding statements, have made no effort to communicate with your Kentucky constituents or the nation."
The governor noted that the physician's statement still provided no details about the seven-term senator's actual condition, "including whether you can speak, reason, or carry out your duties as a senator."
"As governor of the state you serve," Beshear continued, "I am calling on you to directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky and provide proof of your capacity to serve, or resign."
Beshear said he'd sent the same letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who took over McConnell's longtime role in 2025 before he announced his plans not to run for reelection.
Beshear said if McConnell still proved "unwilling" to demonstrate his capacity to serve, he'd insist Thune—one of the few people who claim to have spoken to McConnell since he vanished from public view—fully investigate his condition.
"All of this speculation and even this letter could have been avoided with a minimal amount of transparency," Beshear concluded. "Kentuckians are just asking you to be honest."
While most states allow governors to name an interim replacement when senators die or get expelled, Kentucky is one of just four exceptions, ironically thanks to some classic McConnell machinations.
In 2021, the then-Senate minority leader pressured Kentucky's GOP-controlled Legislature to restrict Beshear's power to unilaterally name a replacement, instead requiring him to pick from a list approved by the departing senator's party.
Three years later, Kentucky abolished temporary replacements entirely, meaning the most Beshear could do was call a special election.
That said, the law has not yet been tested by a vacancy, and Beshear has said he'd be willing to challenge its constitutionality in hopes of naming the replacement himself, adding a 48th member to the chamber's Democratic caucus, at least until January, when it would be filled by whoever wins McConnell's seat during November's midterms.
While Kentucky is a consistently red state and has not elected a Democratic senator since 1992, Beshear's multiple terms as governor show it is capable of electing Democrats in statewide races, and could be more likely to do so in what is projected to be a blue wave year.
But Kentucky's law also says special elections must be called at least 63 days before they occur. This gives Republicans ample incentive to keep McConnell as Schrödinger's senator until at least August 3, after which a replacement would not be able to take office until the new Senate term begins in January.
In an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, Beshear argued that McConnell's absence for the rest of the year "might not be a bad thing."
"McConnell hasn't been there to vote on the SAVE Act, which would tear voting rights away. He hasn't been there to vote to support this war on Iran that this president started and shouldn't be continuing," Beshear said. "Not having Mitch McConnell show up isn't necessarily a bad thing because he certainly doesn't show up to help the American people."
From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.
95
97
98
99
100