Is Mexico ban threat simply a FIFA tax gambit?
Mexico fans were rocked last week by news that FIFA was willing to block El Tri’s participation in the 2022 World Cup if its fans’ homophobic chants were not halted.
FIFA and Mexican soccer officials have skirmished over the objectionable cheer for nearly a decade and the crackdown has the national soccer federation concerned.
This week, the news got even more ominous after journalist Luis Castillo reported that the effort might be a strong-arm strategy to force Mexico to provide tax breaks for the soccer organization and its cronies when the nation co-hosts the 2026 World Cup.
As such, FIFA appears to be threatening to strip Mexico of its co-host role if it does not honor the promise made, and one wonders if it is using the homophobic chants sanctions as both a smokescreen and a hammer.
Is FIFA blackmailing Mexico?
When the Mexico-Canada-United States group submitted its bid to host the 2026 World Cup, the three governments agreed to certain tax exemptions for FIFA as well as its sponsors and suppliers.
Mexico’s government signed off on the deal, as did the other two co-hosts. But just a few months later, a new government was installed in Mexico following elections in the summer of 2018.
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The tax exemption requirement has been FIFA’s modus operandi for decades, but it is not without controversy. Brazil was beset by protests during the 2014 World Cup and it is estimated that Russia sacrificed $80 million dollars in taxes as host of the 2018 World Cup. The Guardian even labeled FIFA “a parasite.”
Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has made it clear that he is unwilling to give the wealthy soccer organization a free pass for the World Cup, declaring the taxes must be paid.
It’s not as if FIFA would go broke if it was forced to pay taxes, Castillo reported. The organization is expected to rake in $11 billion dollars from the 2026 World Cup, with the host nations each getting roughly $1 billion dollars (minus the considerable expenses required to organize and host the tournament).
Castillo argues that the threat issued last week regarding the homophobic jeering of Mexico fans is a shot across the bow. It is possible that FIFA will make a final determination about the status of the 2026 World Cup after next year’s tournament in Qatar.
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One thing is clear, the chanting must be stopped, but it is deplorable if FIFA is using sanctions and threats to protect its financial interests instead of keeping the focus on much-needed anti-discrimination policies.