FIFA stake-sale push tests football's 'American century,' Bennett says

July 30 : FIFA's proposed sale of a private stake in its tournament business, including the World Cup, reflects the expanding reach of U.S.-style sports finance, including private equity, into global football, Roger Bennett, the CEO and founder of the Men in Blazers Media Network, said.

The plan has triggered a major confrontation with European football less than two weeks after a World Cup held primarily in the U.S.. UEFA's 55 member associations voted unanimously on Thursday to boycott FIFA tournaments if the proposal proceeds, saying the World Cup "cannot be treated as an investment product." 

Bennett said the dispute offered a stark early test of football's emerging "American century," as U.S. capital plays an increasingly influential role across the sport.

"Going into this World Cup, it was talked about how football is entering its American century as a global enterprise," Bennett, one of the most prominent voices on soccer in the U.S., told Reuters. 

"The amount of American investment in every facet of the game is going to shape it. And for this to happen within two weeks of the end of the World Cup, I'd say is an epic test of that. I've always said that's for good and for bad."

FIFA BLINDSIDED

The proposal illustrates the collision between the commercial logic common in U.S. sports and the political structures of global football, Bennett said. 

He said world soccer's governing body FIFA had appeared to underestimate the influence held by European counterpart UEFA, whose members include many of the game's strongest national teams including world champions Spain, France and England.

"To have miscalculated and been blindsided by the leverage that UEFA has in the 55 nations - it's an astonishing thing to witness," he said.

"It