Aydan Özoguz, the Chairwoman of the Bundestag Sports Committee, has delivered massive criticism of the recent FIFA World Cup, calling for significant changes in the management of future tournaments. While acknowledging that the tournament provided a deserved champion in Spain, the SPD politician told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland that the sheer spectacle still captivates fans worldwide. However, she described the overall sport-political nature of the event as highly questionable, stating that the “two-man show” orchestrated by Trump and Gianni Infantino had damaged the sport.
Özoguz highlighted several issues during the World Cup, including the US bombing of Iran and the initial refusal to allow players to stay at the venues. Further controversies included the rejection of an official’s entry and fans’ entry, a “sad high point” marked by the absurd theater surrounding the reversal of a red card, and concluding with a US President who only left the podium after repeated requests.
The politician stressed that Infantino made it unambiguously clear that revenue generation was more important to him than the games themselves, a tendency she noted was reflected in excessive drink breaks and endless halftime pauses.
According to Özoguz, continuous changes are necessary, but the quality of the sport must not suffer-in fact, it should improve. She accused Trump and Infantino of being “brothers in spirit regarding power and show,” branding them responsible for stamping the World Cup with a mark that fans reacted to with jeers and whistles-and rightly so.
Looking ahead, Özoguz insists that football must remain the central focus. “Showpieces-if you like-but not in the middle of a game. We can do without extra commercial (drink) breaks,” she advised. Furthermore, she called for ticket prices to become affordable again, arguing that football should never be just an elite sport. Özoguz suggested that Spain, Portugal, and Morocco could demonstrate a better approach in 2030, though she cautioned that they would face the difficult task of having to curb the powers of FIFA and its president.
