Today, I want to review two situations where someone grossly overplayed their hand. I’ll start with Gianni Infantino, the President of FIFA. The World Cup Tournament this year was a huge success; depending on which report you read, FIFA generated somewhere between $13B and $18B in revenue from the tournament, Infantino had been rubbing elbows with the heads of state for Canada, Mexico and the US. Good vibes in abundance …
Infantino is up for election/reelection to this position as FIFA president next Spring. With that successful World Cup in the books, you would think he was a shoo-in for another term; who would want to change a winner? And then came the overplayed hand…
Infantino floated the idea of creating a new entity that would have private investors and would stage FIFA events and dip into what is currently FIFA’s “profits”. [Aside: Remember that FIFA is technically a non-profit entity so maybe those “profits” need to be called “surpluses of funds”?] That idea floated like an anvil; soccer associations around the world received the news about as happily as a wedgie; boycotts of FIFA events were pledged by Europe, North America. South America and Asia; declarations of “no confidence” rained down on Gianni Infantino.
According to reports, Infantino makes about $6M per year as FIFA president plus there is a generous expense account for his travels and representational activities. You would think that would be sufficient, but according to some reporting, his “privatization plan” would have created a position for him where he would make about $30M per year. International soccer has a ton of politics and intrigue associated with it; Infantino had rivals and jealousies to deal with under any circumstances; that possible five-fold increase in his compensation was sufficient for those rivals to coalesce against him. Most reports now say that his re-election is in serious jeopardy.
Here is just one of more than a few statements made by Infantino opponents on this matter:
“A proposal of this magnitude [the privatization of the World Cup] does not reach that stage by accident. It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first. This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behavior. A full review of this leadership must now take place.”
And meanwhile, the Prince of Jordan has accused FIFA of withholding Jordan’s piece of the action as a FIFA member in addition to several US cities claiming that FIFA has stiffed them for expense reimbursements related to the World Cup staged in North America this year. Put those complaints together in juxtaposition with the “privatization plan” and you have a situation akin to a guy who ran a Ponzi scheme making millions off other people also being accused of being a deadbeat dad. Not a good look at all …
The second entity to overplay its hand would be the State of Maryland. About a month ago, Churchill Downs offered to buy the Preakness and the people who “own” the Preakness took them up on the offer. However, the State of Maryland had a right of first refusal to match any such offer, and it did so. OK, that isn’t such a horrible action…
Then the Maryland Governor went into rhetorical overdrive and declared that the State’s action there saved and preserved Maryland racing; this would make sure that the Preakness would be run in Maryland and overseen by Marylanders forever and a day. Good triumphed over evil – – notwithstanding the fact that Churchill Downs also said they wanted to keep the Preakness event at the newly renovated Pimlico racetrack.
I have no idea if the Governor’s rhetorical gas was the motivation for what was announced earlier this week; you make the call:
- Churchill Downs and the New York Racing Authority (NYRA) announced that they had created “a six-race series for 3-year-olds that will include the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes and award $5 million in bonus money based on a points structure for participation.” The series would be known as the Thoroughbred Championship Series; it will begin in 2027; AND it does NOT include The Preakness. Ooops …
The series will start with the Kentucky Derby then comes the Belmont Stakes followed by a stakes race at Churchill then two at Saratoga, and a final race at Churchill in the Fall. If the Thoroughbred Championship Series catches on, that could well mean the demise of the Triple Crown, and it could leave Pimlico and the Preakness high and dry. With $5M up for grabs based on “participation” more than a few owners and trainers will commit to some or all the 6 races in the series and just skip the Preakness leaving that race with junior varsity players.
Somehow, I don’t foresee the Maryland Governor standing up and waxing poetically about the running of “Preakness-Lite” anytime soon.
Finally, let me close here with an observation by Lawrence J. Peter that might be applicable to Gianni Infantino and the governor of Maryland:
“It two wrongs don’t make a right, try three.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………