The World Cup Sell Off: A Self Inflicted Wound for Fifa The recent debacle over Fifa's proposed sell off of a 21% stake in its World Cup rights has been a long time coming, and it's no surprise that Richard Masters, the Premier League chief executive, has described it as a "self inflicted wound" for the organisation.
The decision to press ahead with this ill conceived plan was always going to end in tears. Fifa's chronic inability to think strategically about the future of the game is evident in its handling of World Cup rights.
Instead of working towards a more equitable distribution of revenue among member associations, Fifa chose to prioritize short term gains and risk undermining the very foundations of the tournament.