🌼 P.Ceee🌼

Europe just quit the World Cup. UEFA and all 55 of its national associations announced they will not participate in FIFA competitions. No France, no England, no Spain, no Germany in the biggest tournament on earth. The trigger is wild. Infantino wants to sell a piece of the World Cup to private investors for $4.2 billion. And each of the 211 national associations gets $20 million for voting yes. 211 times $20 million is $4.2 billion. The entire raise equals the approval payments. The investors would be funding the yes votes on their own acquisition. Infantino thought the voting math made him unbeatable. FIFA runs on one country, one vote, so San Marino counts the same as Germany, and $86 million per federation through 2038 is transformative for small associations that have never qualified for a World Cup. He needs 106 of 211 votes, and he was buying them at retail. UEFA just found the counter. Europe can't win the vote, so it's destroying the asset instead. European teams have won 12 of the 22 World Cups ever played. European broadcast money anchors the rights being sold. A World Cup without Europe is worth a fraction of the price, and every investor Kushner and JP Morgan are courting knows it by now. The F1 comparison everyone's making misses the difference. Greg Maffei, who ran Liberty Media's Formula 1 takeover, is structuring this deal, but F1 privatization worked because the teams had nowhere else to race. UEFA already runs the Champions League and the Euros. Europe can exist without FIFA. FIFA cannot exist without Europe. The vote is September 19. Infantino has the votes. UEFA has the teams. Only one of those makes a World Cup worth watching.

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‘Consistently telling someone they are going to get less if the other gets more doesn’t lead to happy circumstances.’ Lee Reynolds, Commissioner for the Ulster Scots and the Ulster British tradition speaking at Féile. Over 90 talks and debates will take place during Féile an Phobail in our biggest ever programme!

A fantastic conversation on Irish unity today at St. Mary’s College as part of Féile an Phobail, with both the main hall and overspill room packed to capacity. An excellent panel featuring former UUP councillor Linzi McClaren, writer Claire Mitchell, SDLP leader Claire Hanna, and Amanda Ferguson. More than 90 talks and debates will take place as part of this year’s Féile an Phobail, our biggest programme to date. Looking forward to the conversations still to come!