Does football need FIFA and its World Cup?

Published 2 July 2026 · sports

While the popularity of the World Cup continues to grow, its organizers FIFA have arguably never been less popular. So why does football still need

While the popularity of the World Cup continues to grow, its organizers FIFA have arguably never been less popular. So why does football still need FIFA? And is there any way out? The eyes of the world are, once again, glued to the World Cup. Overwhelmingly, they are on Lionel Messi's goalscoring record, a Cape Verdean goalkeeper who shot to fame or viral clips of fans. It's a familiar and understandable diversion of attention from the issues that dominated the buildup. Many Argentinian fans were denied visas to attend the tournament and see Messi make history, Vozinha's mother was only granted a visa bond waiver to the country after her son's heroics for Cape Verde and those fans filmed are often the lucky few rich enough to afford outrageous ticket prices. Infantino and Trump relationship has eroded FIFA trust The decision to award US President Donald Trump FIFA's inaugural Peace Prize last December, shortly before he started a war with tournament participant Iran, was reportedly unilateral and has further eroded trust both within and outside the organization. Donald Trump receives first FIFA peace prize To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video With the next tournament taking in games in Europe, Africa and South America in order to allow FIFA to award the 2034 tournament to Saudi Arabia unchallenged and Infantino set to exceed the usual presidential term limit of 12 years, again likely unopposed, frustration with FIFA is at an all time high, according to many observers. But can anything be done? How does FIFA maintain its power? FIFA is responsible for the game's global development but also acts as its commercial operator, a system many governance experts question. The World Cup is its key financial driver, though the recently-revamped and expanded Club World Cup is now another key contributor. That competition has led to widespread complaints from players and player unions about a congested calendar that makes unreasonable demands. "I don't think the players are listened to that much, if I'm totally honest," said Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane before last year's event. US President Donald Trump was front and center when Chelsea lifted last year's Club World Cup trophy Image: Seth Wenig/AP/picture alliance Structurally, each of the 211 member nations (which sit in six continental federations), gets a single vote for the president every four years.

These member associations are then financially rewarded, to a greater or lesser degree, through various schemes and programs. "The commercial dimension is the bedrock of FIFA's system of power. The money is used by the presidents to accumulate and consolidate their power," Miguel Maduro, a former chairman of FIFA's Governance and Review Committee, told DW. He was dismissed from the post in 2017 after attempting to enforce political neutrality rules regarding Russia. "It's what supports the system of patronage through which presidents reward those loyal to them and punish anyone that dares criticize anything. It explains why incumbent presidents are never challenged and stay in power indefinitely." Can politics and the EU force FIFA to change? Like Maduro, Nick McGeehan, of human rights NGO FairSquare, agrees that any reform would have to be imposed upon FIFA. And with individual member nations not incentivized or able to drive change, he is calling on the European Union to take up the fight. "It requires political intervention. There is no other way to fix FIFA,” he told DW. "I think the most obvious example would be the European Union, who could regulate and govern sport the way they regulate other things like big tech." Fair Square have filed a complaint to the Investigatory Chamber to the FIFA Ethics Committee over Infantino's dealings with Trump while, separately, fan group Football Supporters Europe (FSE) and advocacy group Euroconsumers filed a complaint about ticket prices to the EU Commission shortly before the World Cup. A Commission spokesperson would not be drawn on whether the EU might take on FIFA, telling DW only that that the FSE and Euroconsumers complaint was being dealt with "in line with our standard procedures." Lionel Messi became the World Cup's all time top scorer during the 2026 group stage Image: Maria Lysaker/IMAGN Images/REUTERS Asked whether they might intervene in the various questionable World Cup ticket practices, the spokesperson went on to confirm that EU laws "do not regulate the price levels for goods and services, such as event tickets". But added that: "Traders must adequately inform consumers about the total price of their offers and avoid misleading commercial practices, such as making attractive starting price claims for tickets that are not available or pressure-selling techniques while consumers wait in the virtual queue." Though definitive political action is so far thin on the ground, McGeehan retains hope.