Real Madrid calls for public-interest protection after FIFA rights rethink

Real Madrid has welcomed FIFA’s decision to abandon a proposal to sell part of the commercial rights to its competitions, particularly the World Cup, while warning that any attempt to market future football revenues without accepting the associated costs and risks would be unacceptable.

In a statement published on the club’s official website, Real Madrid said FIFA’s decision to withdraw the proposal would bring relief to millions of supporters around the world.

The Spanish club also expressed its “deep gratitude” to the continental and national football associations that had firmly opposed the plan. It said international football and the World Cup were matters of public interest rather than commercial assets that could be used to generate gains for a limited group.

“International football and the World Cup represent, above all, events of public interest, and constitute a legacy belonging to countries, fans and society as a whole, and therefore should never be treated as mere financial assets that can be marketed to achieve gains for a limited group,” the statement said.

Real Madrid argued that clubs are the foundation on which international football and the World Cup are built. Clubs identify players, train and develop them, and then make them available to national teams competing in the game’s biggest tournaments.

The club said it was strongly opposed to any attempt to sell future commercial income from competitions while avoiding responsibility for the costs and risks connected to those competitions.

“Any initiative aimed at appropriating future revenues from football without assuming the responsibilities that arise from them is unacceptable, and should never be put forward again in any form,” it added.

Real Madrid said the same principle had guided its position in domestic football. The club previously opposed, and declined to join, an agreement reached by the Spanish league with the CVC investment fund.

That agreement involved pledging a percentage of clubs’ future television-rights income for a period of 50 years in exchange for investment from CVC. Real Madrid’s reference to the deal underlined its wider objection to arrangements that commit future revenues without the party receiving them taking on an equivalent share of the financial responsibilities.

The club’s statement stopped short of offering direct thanks to FIFA president Gianni Infantino for withdrawing the controversial proposal. Instead, Real Madrid focused on recognising FIFA’s change of position and praising the federations that had opposed the idea.

The decision to abandon the proposal concerned the possible sale of a portion of the commercial rights to FIFA competitions, with the World Cup identified as the principal example. Real Madrid’s response combined approval of the withdrawal with a broader warning that international football and its major tournaments should be protected as part of the public heritage of countries, supporters and society.