Contracting with FIFA: We Know Who Has the Leverage

When negotiating contracts, the question: ”Who has the leverage?” is critical. The world of sports is no exception, and powerful sports organizations often have the leverage to negotiate contracts that give them significant advantages. FIFA’s recently negotiated contract with MetLife Stadium, which secured it as the venue for the final match of the 2026 Men’s World Cup, provides a great illustration of this phenomenon, and the ways in which sports organizations gain the upper hand when brokering massive deals. Tune in to this edition of the Sports Business Podcast with Prof. C. to learn more.

Host: Mark Conrad Producer: Victoria Ilano Additional Production: Jeffrey Haynes Artwork: Pamela V. White Marketing: Michelle Miller Music: ”MarcusWay/Energetic Pop Punk/Tribe of Noise”

Episode Transcript

(00:06):
Hello and
welcome to the Sports Business Podcastwith Prof.
C, the podcast that exploresthe world of professional,
collegiate, amateur and Olympic sports.
I'm Mark Conrad or Prof.
C, from FordhamUniversity's Gabelli School of Business,
whereI serve as Professor of Law and Ethics

(00:28):
and the Director of the Sports BusinessInitiative.
Contract law discussions make up a largecomponent of my sports law classes.
I love to give examples of playercontracts, coaches contracts,
endorsement contracts, and stadiumor arena
licenses, to name some examples.

(00:51):
One central tenant of contract law
affirmsthat there are few legal parameters
to determine what is fair and what is not.
That is up to the partiesto negotiate and conclude
an agreement that they thinkbest represents their interests.
Yet there have been morethan a few contracts
that have been one sidedin favor of a particular party.

(01:15):
The reason for this is summarizedin one word: leverage.
In sportsas well as other areas of business,
leverage is the key reasonwhy a contract favors one side or another.
And FIFA, the international governing bodyof what we call soccer in the U.S.,
is not afraid of using its leverageat the negotiating table.

(01:39):
As many already know, the next men’sFIFA World Cup will take place
in North America, and a number of citiesin the United States,
Canada and Mexico will host games.
The championship games location
is MetLife Stadium in New Jersey,
meaning that the NY/NJ marketwill have the honor

(02:01):
of hosting the final match,watched by billions around the world
and probably 70,000lucky fans who can obtain tickets.
Recently, The Athletic
Magazine detailedthe contract signed between FIFA
and the host organizersand as the headline put it,
significant concessions were made to FIFAbecause it had the leverage.

(02:27):
And what leverage did it have!
Not surprisingly, FIFA, nor the organizerwanted the public to see this contract.
It took a Freedom of Information Actrequest
by a newspaper to get all 350 pages of it.
I've not been able to see it,so I am taking the information
from the article,which admittedly is second hand,

(02:50):
but nothing prevents me from believingwhat has been written.
According to the article,the contract gives FIFA
near-total control overstadium operations and places
a great deal of the costsof hosting squarely on the organizers.
In some instances, FIFA's control
can extend up to one yearfollowing the World Cup final.

(03:13):
The contract jettisons the naming rights
deal with MetLifeduring the time of the tournament,
and any seating arrangementsused by luxury box holders.
It requiresthat any upgrades to the stadium
be paid for by the facility ownersand not FIFA.

More interesting tidbits (03:30):
FIFA
may establish officesfree of charge in spaces
provided by the host citywith “state of the art infrastructure.”
No other sports events could be staged
in the host city seven daysfollowing the final match.
A peculiar provision for New York,as either or both the Yankees

(03:53):
or Mets would likely be playing seven daysafter the World Cup final.
So it would be interestingto see how strictly this is interpreted.
Another gem the host city must use
“best efforts” to make public spaces“as attractive
as possible.” It'shard for me to make sense out of this one.

(04:15):
The New York/Northern New Jerseyarea has many advantages,
but beauty of public spaces is not exactlya category that would rank that high.
No one will confuse downtown Newark
or Midtown Manhattanfor the boulevards of Paris.
Those sentiments aside, one can see thatFIFA drives
one hard bargainand cities are willing to accept it.

(04:39):
The World Cup will begin June 11th, 2026.
Any thoughts?
Send them to me at [e-mail].
Thank you for listening.
Until next time, this is Prof.
C for the GabelliSports Business Initiative.