Three Football Business Stories You May Have Missed LAST Week

This week has produced a slightly less controversial outbreak of football business stories, with Manchester City’s guilty charge a massive talking point in the media over this international break.

But the last seven days have brought us a variety of different stories, including FIFA being in the spotlight again as they have faced pressure over their $6 billion reserves.

In other, more positive news, Lionel Messi added another Spanish club to his growing portfolio, while Newcastle United’s latest sponsorship deal with Coca Cola has a unique twist to it.

So, without further ado, here are three football business stories you may have missed this week.

Why Football Associations Want a Share of FIFA’s $6 Billion

FIFA has around $6 billion in cash reserves, and some of football’s most powerful administrators want more of that to find its way back into the game.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin and CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani have proposed that each of FIFA’s 211 member associations receives at least $10 million during the 2027 to 2030 commercial cycle. Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa also backed the calls for greater funding.

The infamous Gianni Infantino does appear to be open to the idea, with the Swiss saying he would support the greatest level of additional funding that could be responsibly managed. Although he did stop short of committing to the $10 million figure wanted, the proposal is yet to take place and is expected to be discussed at the FIFA Council meeting on the 15th October.

At $10 million each, the proposal would distribute roughly $2.1 billion, with that figure coming on top of FIFA’s existing Forward development programme. UEFA and CONCACAF argue that FIFA’s reserves would still remain comfortably above its minimum requirements even after a payout on that scale.

However, there has been some recent history between this disagreement. Infantino had previously backed the creation of FIFA Forward Enterprise, which would have involved outside investment linked to FIFA’s commercial rights and promised significantly more funding for national associations. But that project was abandoned after there was opposition over its structure and governance.

That makes the current debate about more than simply giving national associations extra money.

FIFA has built such an enormous financial wealth from the commercial success of competitions like the World Cup. Its members now want to know how much of that wealth actually needs to sit in reserve, and whether it can be distributed.

For smaller associations in particular, another $10 million is not a minor bonus. Training facilities, pitches, development programmes and more could have the necessary funding needed from this to help transform national teams.

While FIFA may have generated the money off its own back, the argument whether $6 billion is needed in reserve is now starting to be questioned, with FIFA facing pressure once again.

Messi is Starting to Build a Football Club Portfolio

Lionel Messi has spent most of his career terrorising the football clubs he comes up against, and creating immense value for the ones he’s played for. But as he heads toward the end of his stunning life as a footballer, the Argentine is building up a portfolio of clubs he wants to own.

Messi has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Spanish second tier side CD Eldense, subject to approval. The 39 year old purchased the shares held by the Colombian investment group TH Soluciones Group, although the financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

On its own, a global football superstar buying a relatively small Spanish club is quite unique, but it’s made more interesting by the fact that Eldense is actually Messi’s second club he has bought shares in this year.

In April, he bought UE Cornella, giving him another interest further down the Spanish football pyramid. Eldense is a bigger acquisition, as they play in the Segunda Division, although they have struggled at the beginning of this season.

This news points towards something we may well see more of. Due to how wealthy footballers can get nowadays, especially names like Lionel Messi, we could see more and more players getting into the business side of the game when they reach the end of their playing careers.

Messi already has a worldwide audience, which is what most small clubs spend years and years trying to build. Eldense have spent much of their 105 year history well outside the global football spotlight.

But an association with Messi changes that enormously overnight. Messi’s ownership will bring much more attention, which means more followers, stronger sponsorship opportunities and potentially greater interest from supporters outside Spain.

Of course, a famous owner doesn’t automatically create a successful football business. But examples like Wrexham and their Hollywood owners can be a great example that actual solid investment and decisions, combined with the attention and commercialisation fame can bring, can propel smaller clubs in a flash.

Newcastle Are Finding More Things for Sponsors to Buy

Newcastle United have added one of the world’s most recognisable companies to their growing list of commercial partners. The club has signed a multi year agreement with Coca Cola, which becomes Newcastle’s official soft drinks partner. The financial terms haven’t been disclosed, however.

But the more interesting part of this story is where the Coca Cola name will appear.

The company has also become presenting partner of St. James’ STACK, Newcastle’s 2,000 capacity fanzone and entertainment venue beside St. James’ Park. The partnership will include live music, interactive fan areas, giveaways, hospitality experiences and digital content.

STACK itself is already an interesting piece of Newcastle’s business, but combined with Coca Cola it makes for unique viewing. STACK was built from 56 shipping containers on what was previously a car park, and includes bars, street food, large screens and entertainment space. It opened in 2024 and last year received permission to remain until 2031.

This Coca Cola involvement has improved an already brilliant commercial asset for Newcastle, right next to their stadium, allowing them to sell sponsorship around it. It gives brands access to supporters before and after matches, but also during concerts, live sport and other events throughout the week.

For Newcastle, increasing commercial revenue remains vitally important in their attempts to try compete financially with the financial powerhouses of the Premier League. Their fanzone can be compared to Tottenham’s commercialisation through their new stadium.

Newcastle’s recent partnership additions include Guinness, SumUp, KNOX and an extension with BetMGM.

This Coca Cola agreement is another small part of that growth, and they represent a number of clubs that are trying to build more experiences around matchday, as they try to sell more and more things in order to compete with the big boys.