VfB Stuttgart views plans by world football’s governing body FIFA to seek private investment in the World Cup with great scepticism. The club fully backs the German Football Association and the global game in condemning the proposal.
VfB CEO Alexander Wehrle: “We join UEFA and DFB President Bernd Neuendorf in opposing FIFA’s leadership plans and support the football community’s steadfast resistance to the sale of the World Cup. There is no obvious urgent need for investment, or indeed funding, at FIFA level which would benefit the global game. Driving the commercialisation of football in this direction without even a semblance of a common, sensible goal would send a disastrous message. Furthermore, key committees and stakeholders were in no way involved in these plans. The unilateral actions of the FIFA president and his confidants must end before the world governing body jeopardises football’s approval around the world.”