Top football boss breaks ranks – and says FIFA is awarding World Cups without transparency
A world football boss has broken rank to claim FIFA is awarding World Cups – including to Saudi Arabia – without a transparent process.
Lise Klaveness is the first football federation chief to go public with concerns about the rapid, short-circuit process that effectively decided the 2030 and 2034 hosts in secret meetings led by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
“It has not been a transparent process,” Ms Klaveness, the Norwegian football federation president, told Sky News.
“We have to expect good governance,” she added. “We had big, big, huge reforms in FIFA several years ago, which were good on paper, but it needs to be implemented and I cannot see how that has happened.”
Ms Klaveness also said she was “very concerned” that FIFA is not taking women’s football seriously enough, given a World Cup host for 2027 is yet to be confirmed.
Ms Klaveness is the Norwegian football federation president
The overall process appears at odds with the transformation of world football’s decision-making promised by Mr Infantino after replacing the discredited Sepp Blatter in 2016.
The 211 football nations should have had the final say on World Cup hosts – but last month, the closed FIFA Council suddenly produced an unprecedented plan to combine rival bids for a 2030 tournament in six countries on three continents.
And they formed a curtailed, favourable process that blocked most of the world from bidding – paving the way for the Saudi Arabia to be unchallenged for 2034.
“When decisions are made in closed rooms, it’s the opposite of what the reforms were promising us,” Ms Klaveness said.
The decision came after Mr Infantino prioritised trips to Saudi Arabia over most other nations in the last three years – regularly meeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and even appearing in a government promotional video advertising the virtues of the oil-rich nation.
Ms Klaveness said: “When we give away power … and money and influence to nations and hosts without knowing that FIFA has had enough objectivity and arm’s length distance and no conflict of interest in it, then we have a problem. So then the question needs to be asked.”
She hopes for transparency on Mr Infantino’s dealings with the Saudis while being focused on the process rather than the country itself.
She asked: “How have you [Mr Infantino] worked to keep an objectivity to business and knowing the fact that this is a lot of power? How has the power been separated between different bodies and persons so that you don’t get conflicts of interest?”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino at a 2026 FIFA World Cup ceremony. Pic: AP
FIFA has not explained why it only allowed countries in Asia and Oceania to bid for 2034 when North and Central American nations should have been permitted under the rotation system in the statutes.
Only weeks were given to form a bid that was too challenging for a democratic nation like Australia, which needs government agreements.
FIFA has sought to portray the selection of the 2030 and 2034 World Cup hosts as still being in play, with assessments of the countries to be conducted.
But Mr Infantino’s own comments on Instagram last week were taken as confirmation when he said the 2030 and 2034 tournaments were “set to be hosted” by the announced nations without any caveats mentioning an ongoing process.
A key part of that process should be human rights assessments, which FIFA has not fully committed to being published when pressed by Sky News.
Under FIFA regulations, a plan to mitigate risks should be presented to address anti-LGBTQ+ laws and the lack of equal rights for women.
But with the hosts already lined up, the importance of the bidding evaluations – a key reform from the start of the Infantino presidency – has been reduced.
Ms Klaveness said: “We don’t know if that’s a breach of a code of conduct or if there are good reasons to do so.”
Read more:
FIFA has ‘not changed’ and decisions still lack transparency
Mr Infantino has travelled to Saudi Arabia numerous times over the past few years
What about the Women’s World Cup?
FIFA has not explained why the 2027 Women’s World Cup host will not be selected until next year – with four rivals.
“Everyone should be very concerned with those symbolic signals you’re sending because we are in desperate need to have a balance that the women’s side is lifted at least at the same acknowledgement level as the men’s side,” Ms Klaveness said.
“And when you have those awards for three [men’s] World Cups and the next is not awarded for women, it might be a danger that people will view this as not taken as seriously.”
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‘FIFA is a pioneer for women’s football’
In response to the interview, FIFA insisted it is now a “respected, trusted and modern governing body.”
FIFA told Sky News that because the FIFA Congress still has the final ratification of World Cup hosts that “the suggestion that the Congress has been cut out is clearly misinformed.”
But FIFA acknowledged that “consultations with the confederations” – which were not publicly declared – had led to the decision to award two World Cups at the same time.
FIFA said in a statement: “Securing future FIFA World Cup hosts across multiple editions and cycles provides certainty and stability for FIFA’s flagship men’s football competition from a commercial, financial and operational perspective, which in turn helps position FIFA to best fulfil its key statutory objectives.”
But while highlighting the benefits of changes to the men’s World Cup process, FIFA responded to criticism of the deadline for the Women’s World Cup selection by saying it was “not substantially different to previous bidding processes.”
In 2018, Mr Infantino did oversee an unprecedented open vote for the 2026 World Cup with the combined United States-Canada-Mexico plan beating Morocco and the votes of the FIFA Congress made public.
But it was the ruling council of 37 members that decided to combine the interest from Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to create a vast 2030 World Cup – without putting the plan to the congress of every football nation.
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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