Latest news with #MaybourneHotel
New York Times
6 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
FIFA's Club World Cup architect on the tournament, backlash and its future
LOS ANGELES — Inside a quaint courtyard area at the five-star Maybourne Hotel in Beverly HIlls, FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafström sips an espresso, then another, while he proudly discusses the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup. Grafström, 45, was one of the chief architects behind the expanded format. For the former UEFA employee, who also previously served as chief of staff for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, having his name, and ideas, so closely linked to the Club World Cup is a badge of honor. Advertisement 'Having had the opportunity to work on this since it was an idea, to see it become a reality is something that feels very special, as a big football fan,'Grafström told The Athletic. 'I'm really excited for the tournament and to have it in the U.S., as well.' Grafström joked that he doesn't do media very often, which isn't a surprise considering Infantino's larger-than-life persona when it comes to FIFA's sporting and political objectives. Grafström is mild-mannered but direct, and he was fairly open about the future of the Club World Cup and the immediate concerns for the first edition that kicks off on June 14. While he is bullish about the expectations for the tournament this summer, Grafström is certainly aware of the criticism the competition has garnered. When FIFA makes a decision about a major tournament, or in this case, creates a new competition with novel qualification parameters, the common response from fans around the world is often angry and confrontational. The Club World Cup has been deemed a cash grab — another perceived money-making scheme that will benefit FIFA and the richest clubs in the world. Grafström pushed back on that but acknowledged that the blowback has not gone unnoticed. 'We have a responsibility to organize it, to grow the game, but it's not a commercial venture as such,' he said. 'I think that clubs will benefit, their brands will become better known, as well. They can grow their fan bases. For me as a secretary general, it was a sporting competition and then the commercial is part of it, but it's not the driving force.' The play-in match between LAFC of MLS and Liga MX's Club América ended on a high note. An extra-time thriller at a sold-out BMO Stadium in L.A. delivered precisely what FIFA had in mind. The Mexican side's fervent U.S.-based supporters meshed well with LAFC's own signature fanbase. Aesthetically, the match was a victory for FIFA. It was a successful proof of concept that showcased the growing fandom for the sport in some parts of the country. But LAFC advancing means that millions of stateside Club América fans won't buy tickets this summer. Advertisement The Athletic reported on Wednesday that due to low sales, FIFA has reduced ticket prices for the tournament opener on June 14 between Lionel Messi's Inter Miami and Egypt's Al Ahly. Grafström addressed a number of topics related to the future of the tournament, including where the 2029 edition may be held. The FootBiz newsletter reported on Wednesday that Australia was being considered, and that Spain, Portugal and Morocco (among the six cohosts for the 2030 men's World Cup), are also under consideration. While The Athletic can confirm the report, Grafström didn't close the door on a return to the U.S. So what are the true expectations for the 2025 edition? Will U.S. immigration policies hurt attendance? Will the Club World Cup's short transfer window improve the competition? And what about Cristiano Ronaldo? We asked, and Grafström answered. Questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity. TA: Take us through the process of creating a play-in match. How did that come to fruition? Grafström: We discussed with the important stakeholders. And for me, sporting merit always has to be the driving force for any decision. And this is also how the Club World Cup has been created. You'll see all the teams qualified based on the continental competitions over the last four years, either being champion or via ranking. And so sporting merit should always be what drives us. When you have to make a decision about a team, you can always look at different ways. So we had to make a decision eventually, but to have the one game and involve those two teams made sense, rather than giving it to one or the other or another team. Actually, now it also creates some excitement for the tournament. Do you see this play-in match as being something that could be part of the Club World Cup moving forward? Perhaps there's a four-team play-in tournament in the future. I think for the future we are very open-minded to look at formats and so on that we will discuss with the clubs and with the confederations. But it's a good test. Let's see how it goes and then let's see who qualifies. And they will have a short run up for the tournament. I'm sure all the players who are involved in (the play-in game) want to be part of this unique adventure. Advertisement Do you view this as a test to see how the U.S. market really takes in a Club World Cup? I wouldn't see it as a test as such. FIFA has a responsibility to grow football around the world. I think since the World Cup 94, football has taken great steps with MLS and the U.S. national team and the Concacaf Nations League, as well. And so football is growing. And you can see now also with (Lionel) Messi and the impact he has on the American public that is more and more, I would say, excited about soccer. And you can watch a lot of soccer on TV, as well. So there's a big competition between the different leagues and also with other sports. Soccer is not the biggest sport in the U.S. yet, but we certainly have a big ambition together with this tournament. And next year's national team World Cup and the Olympics are coming here, and there's a big chance that the Women's World Cup is coming here as well. The stadiums are state of the art. The North American market has evolved a lot in the last few years, so it's kind of creating this last piece of the pyramid from the continental level. The previous (Club World Cup) didn't have such an impact. We want to have an impact, and I think it will help grow the game in the US. What metrics do you want to take away and apply to the 2026 World Cup? Operationally it's a good test and attendance for sure. The stadium operations, working with the various stakeholders, be it the government, the police and the stadium officials. And I think it's meant to promote the game of soccer ahead of the World Cup. The World Cup is coming next year now. Together Concacaf and U.S. Soccer can start or continue building the legacy together. So I think having us here and present in the next months is something which will lay the foundation for many more great things in this country. This transfer window that's going to occur before the Club World Cup has become a bit of a frenzy. What are your thoughts on that? Is that helping promote the competition? Yes, definitely. When there are no games, what are people talking about every summer? Transfers. We want this tournament to be unique, but we wanted to give all the clubs this opportunity to open this exceptional (transfer) window. It's also a new test. We saw Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving Liverpool. His first official tournament will be in the Club World Cup. How exciting is that? It shows that Real Madrid, one of the biggest clubs in the world, is using it. So let's see how other clubs will use it. So we thought of it as an opportunity to create a buzz, as well. Definitely. But I think it is also a tool for the clubs to strengthen their squads if they want to. Would you like to see Cristiano Ronaldo in this Club World Cup? Infantino certainly would, it appears. I think any football fan would like to see Cristiano Ronaldo in this tournament, and what he has meant for the game is something remarkable. His career, both club and national team beating all these records. And he's so fit. So you know his focus is a great example for any youngster either a boy or a girl. I don't know what will happen. Up to him and potential clubs, but for sure it would be a fantastic addition. I think it shows that we are talking about the excitement of and the uniqueness of this tournament. Giving clubs from around the world the opportunity to play each other in a competitive format for the first time in a month-long tournament is something you know, I think it's the first time, we'll see how it goes. But I believe strongly in the future of this competition. Advertisement There is of course the reality of football's congested calendars. How is FIFA approaching that with the Club World Cup? This is going to be a big test for the sport and a big test for the players after a long season. I think we have a great responsibility to listen and to all the stakeholders, to the players, first and foremost on this topic. And so we are having discussions with the player unions. We're also talking to players directly and to the clubs who contract players who also have a responsibility to play in this competition, the organized leagues and the confederations. Arsène Wenger is leading up a specific task force on this topic. He has great experience as a coach and is now leading our global football development. I think it's important to also bring medical data on this, but we'll see how it goes this summer. I think one important element also is that players get necessary rest for a certain period both physically and mentally. The calendar is a jigsaw puzzle which is not easy to solve. It's also then up to the clubs, the load of training and the matches. And you know some clubs when they finish their season they go overseas for commercial trips. I think it's a collective responsibility which we have to take, we have to listen and then see how we can take into account all the different opinions and find a balanced solution. How does FIFA view some of the backlash about the Club World Cup by fans and pundits alike? It's something where we can also do better to explain what we're doing with the revenues. And so in this competition, whatever we generate will cover the cost of the tournament. So, renting the stadiums, the operation, security and the staff costs, etc. And we'll pay prize money to the clubs, as well as solidarity, which will go to club football. So FIFA retains zero for itself. Then why should football fans care about it? We're going to have the opportunity to discover new teams from continents. We haven't had this opportunity before. I've had the great privilege to to travel around the world and see football. You see the passion and the emotion that this game gives to people in rural areas and urban areas. In Argentina we've seen their national team fans, but their club fans from Boca Juniors, River Plate and at that it is something special. And we've seen how popular the tickets have been for Argentinian clubs and Brazilian clubs, as well. But even the uptake in Europe has been positive, as well. So one of the things that we will see is the passion for these teams. This will be something special and then the competitiveness, to actually have for the first time, a true club world champion. In the end, these are athletes who want to compete for a title. And you know, (Erling) Haaland has never played in a World Cup or in a Euro. He will want to win this title. He would become a world champion. We'll have to see the final squad lists but we'll have players from over 80 countries. That's 80 different nationalities who have the possibility to play in this tournament. This is a true Club World Cup. The other one was more like a super cup and it never took off. FIFA has been public about working with the Trump administration in making sure that fans can access the country and attend these upcoming tournaments. Where does that stand currently? How can you make sure that U.S. immigration policies are not a deterrent? Well, I think by communicating about it and (Infantino) said that all fans are welcome here. I think proactively working with the administration and the various agencies is a responsibility that we have. And looking at next year's World Cup, we want fans to feel welcome. And so the discussion we have been having with the clubs also is to smoothen the process as much as we can and work together with the relevant authorities to make sure it's a positive experience. And that's why I'm sure we will see a lot of fans coming from around the world, from all of these clubs and to the U.S. to enjoy the FIFA Club World Cup. Advertisement Are there plans for the Club World Cup to come back to the United States? Or is there a plan to link it with a country that's going to host the next men's World Cup? I believe strongly in the future of this competition. The future is bright. Now we're focusing on this edition. And the only thing that we have fixed is the ranking system for 2029 and that the next tournament will be in 2029. How was it fixed? So the criteria which we use to create the ranking for the 2025 edition, we will use the same one for 2029. And so the number of points you get for every game, for example. The European model, which was different for 2025, is now in line with the other confederations because they've had their own coefficient for this edition. And so this is all aligned. We will continue discussing with the clubs and the confederations for the 2029 edition. Is there a host country already designated for 2029? Will confederations or countries bid to host the Club World Cup in the future? No host yet. We want to see how this tournament goes. And we're open-minded about the future where it can be played in 2029. I think the window which exists is the right one in June. After the international window in June. I think we still have to decide on how we will designate it, but I'm sure many countries will be willing to host it. It could be in South America. It could be in Africa. It could be in Asia. It could be in Europe or it could come back here, as well. The men's World Cup final is at MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey. That's the site of the Club World Cup final. Is that a coincidence? New York is the capital of the world. You have over 200 nationalities in New York. And I would say that it's a good test to have the Club World Cup final in New York/New Jersey in a beautiful stadium, a big stadium. I think it's probably not a coincidence, but also the majority of the Club World Cup is on the East Coast and it's the biggest stadium. So it's a fitting destination for a final game. And I think we'll see a rocking MetLife Stadium on the 13th of July. It will enable us to test the facilities and make sure that next year's final will be something unique. This is something that the U.S. hasn't experienced yet, having all of these clubs playing and having the opportunity to become the first true FIFA Club World Cup champion. A world champion is something that we love about football.
Memri
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Memri
Qatar For Beginners: The Evil Regime Behind Al-Jazeera
In the summer of 2023, a reporter from The Jerusalem Post, Benjamin Weinthal, wrote to all the members of the Beverly Hills City Council, asking us if we knew that the Maybourne Hotel, in the middle of Beverly Hills, was owned by members of the Qatari royal family, who themselves had made antisemitic statements and who were part of a regime that had funded terrorist groups like Hamas in an effort to destroy Israel. I had no idea. Protest outside the Maybourne Hotel, March 2, 2025 I had no idea about Qatar's malign role in financing jihadi terrorism. I had no idea that Qatar hosted Hamas. I had no idea that Qatar supported Hamas. I had no idea that Qatar funded Hamas. I had no idea that Qatar trained Hamas. I had no idea that, for all intents and purposes, Qatar was Hamas. I had no idea about the way in which Qatar had been using its massive wealth in its well-oiled campaign to demonize, delegitimize, and employ double standards against Israel. I had no idea about Qatar's infiltration into Western countries through its massive real estate acquisitions, worth tens of billions of dollars in Manhattan alone, including 10% of the Empire State Building, world-famous hotels such as Claridge's, the Berkeley, the Connaught, and the Maybourne in Beverly Hills, the Harrod's department store in London, and a 20% stake in the company that operates London's Heathrow Airport. I had no idea about Qatar's sportswashing activities, including ownership of the French soccer club PSG, stakes in the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, among other teams, and the machinations behind its hosting of the 2022 World Cup. I had no idea how Qatar used its massive wealth to burnish its image and blunt criticism by liberally spreading Qatari cash to an assortment of universities, NGOs and even politicians. Although it always had seemed suspect to me, I had no idea of the horrific extent to which the Qatar-owned Al-Jazeera network was, in fact, the world's leading propaganda machine – in both English and Arabic – for anti-Israel, anti-Jewish, Islamist terrorism. In short, I had no idea how this small country with approximately three million residents, of which only 10-15% are actual citizens, managed to exert such outsized influence in world affairs, including trying to portray itself as an "honest broker" in sensitive negotiations within the Middle East, including hostage negotiations. I had no idea of the extent of its malign activities and how its whole existence seemed to be focused on undermining and attacking Israel, and, by extension, Europe and the West, while spreading its intolerant and violent brand of Islamism. Now I know. And for more than the past year, during Councilmember comments at the end of our Beverly Hills City Council meetings, I have made the following statement: "Furthermore, I propose that we designate Qatar a state-sponsor of terrorism; that we sanction Qatar, freeze its assets and use them to compensate the victims of Qatar-funded terrorism; and that we ask the State Department to expel the Qatari consulate from Beverly Hills. "Jew-hating racists and sponsors of terrorism are not welcome in our City." On September 11 of last year, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and the Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; Rabbi Pini Dunner, the Senior Rabbi of the Beverly Hills Synagogue and the chair of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, Western Region; and myself paid a visit to the Consul General of Qatar in Beverly Hills. We delivered a letter in which we decried the murders by Hamas of six hostages, including the American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. We called upon Qatar to use its influence to secure the immediate release of all the hostages. We called upon Qatar to change its ways and to transition to becoming "a valued, tolerant, and civilized member of the Community of Nations and a leader among the brotherhood of Abrahamic nations." The Consul General promised to forward the letter to Doha. Unsurprisingly, we never received a response. Since that meeting, there has been a change in the administration. President Trump has forcefully suggested that all the hostages should be released at once, rather than in "drips and drabs." Despite the President's statement giving Israel free rein to take whatever actions it felt was necessary to free the hostages, Hamas has held onto as many hostages as it can, exacting an untold ransom from Israel, while using hostage releases as an extreme form of propaganda -- with the full support of Qatar's Al-Jazeera. What kind of pressure can Israel or the U.S. exert on Hamas to achieve the goal of the swift, simultaneous release of all the hostages? Hamas is a death cult, with nothing to lose. Yet Qatar, with its mafia-like royal family, outsized international influence, and massive wealth, has everything to lose. If the U.S. really wants all the hostages released at once, it needs to employ a tactic of maximum pressure on Qatar, as only the U.S. can. If the U.S. issued an ultimatum to Qatar, which finances Hamas, hosts Hamas, supports Hamas, propagandizes for Hamas, which for all intents and purposes IS Hamas, the hostages would all be released immediately. Qatar has everything to lose. The ultimatum would include the U.S. revoking Qatar's non-NATO ally status (which never should have been granted in the first place); it would include sanctions on Qatar, such as freezing Qatari assets and personal sanctions on Qatar's royal family, including those who own palatial mansions in Bel Air; it would include the threat of shutting down and moving CENTCOM's Al-Udeid airbase, perhaps to Bahrain or Saudi Arabia; it would include banning Al-Jazeera, which has already been banned in a number of countries, as well as in the Palestinian Authority. If the U.S. really meant business and issued Qatar an ultimatum with real consequences if the hostages aren't all released immediately, the hostages would all be free because Qatar has everything to lose, even if Hamas does not. However, Qatar has managed to use its wealth so strategically, on all sides of the political spectrum, that no administration, not even this one, seems likely to take a hard line with Qatar. Qatar has managed to create ties with prominent Americans, as well as Europeans, in academia, the economy, and politics (including instances of outright bribery, for example, ex-Senator Menendez). Unsurprisingly, there are members of the Trump administration, as well, with close ties to Qatar. If more people become aware of what Qatar really is and what Qatar has been doing to foment terrorism and undermine peace in the Middle East, perhaps there is a chance that the administration will recognize it will have no choice but to put real pressure on Qatar, particularly if it intends to expand what likely may be Trump's greatest foreign policy achievement and lasting legacy: the Abraham Accords. While pressuring Qatar may likely be the only way to achieve an immediate release of all the hostages – something that may not happen because of key Trump administration staff's close ties to the regime – ending the Qatari cash infusion into our university system and forcing Qatar's Al-Jazeera to register as a foreign agent should be at the top of the Administration's to do list, even under existing law and policy. MEMRI's Yigal Carmon, who has been the leading expert in alerting the world to Qatar's complicity as the puppet master for Islamist terrorism and, along with the Iranian regime, the biggest obstacle to peace in the region, has exposed in detail just how Qatar's Al-Jazeera has consistently acted as a propaganda organ for Hamas and other jihadi terrorist groups. Attorney General Pam Bondi needs to finally enforce the Department of Justice's order for Al-Jazeera+ to register as a foreign agent. In September of 2020, the Justice Department under the first Trump Administration ordered Al-Jazeera to register under Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The Biden administration sat on its hands and almost five years later, as Al-Jazeera has continued unabated with its anti-Israel, anti-West propaganda, nothing has happened. It's not like Al-Jazeera's jihadi propaganda was anything new, even then: It was also almost five years ago when MEMRI's Amb. Alberto M. Fernandez and Yotam Feldner wrote Al-Jazeera Unmasked: Political Islam As A Media Arm Of The Qatari State, a searing indictment of Qatar and Al-Jazeera's role in furthering the Qatari agenda of radical, violent, jihadi Islamism. If the U.S. government doesn't at the very least take this long overdue action against Qatar's propaganda machine, there is no reason to think that Qatar will not continue its machinations and double-dealing against the interests of the United States. For example, Qatar hired ex-CIA agent Kevin Chalker (who failed to register under FARA as a foreign agent) to spy on a raft of American lawmakers, including Senators Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton, and Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, who were critical of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Documents drafted by Chalker's company, Global Risk Advisors, include the telling sentence: "High Alert: An attack on Hamas is an attack on Qatar. An attack on the Muslim Brotherhood is an attack on Qatar." Senator Cruz had proposed legislation that would have outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood. It is clear that, in addition to urging Attorney General Bondi to proceed with implementation of Al-Jazeera's FARA filing, he and his colleagues – as well as the Trump administration writ large – should swiftly work to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood, as other countries have done. The Muslim Brotherhood must be designated as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) and countries supporting it, including Qatar and Turkey, must be sanctioned. For way too long, Qatar and Al-Jazeera have been peddling propaganda as "journalism," with much of the propaganda aimed at the Arab world in an effort to destabilize the region, whip up Main Street sentiment against Israel, and to derail the Abraham Accords. Any criticism of Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood on Al-Jazeera is strictly forbidden, and the propagandizing has gotten so extreme that even the Palestinian Authority has taken the step of banning Al Jazeera. Despite its all too predictable protestations, Al-Jazeera's coordination with Hamas has been well documented, as has the fact that Hamas (and Islamic Jihad) operatives have been moonlighting as Al Jazeera "journalists." This is not a First Amendment matter; this is a national security matter. Al-Jazeera should be sanctioned or banned in the US, in much the same way that Russian government media outlets have been sanctioned for spreading propaganda and disinformation. At the very, very least, Al-Jazeera must be forced to register as a foreign agent under FARA, with all the oversight that implies. For much too long, Qatar has been able to act with impunity, a two-faced Batman villain, funding and masterminding Islamist terrorism and radicalization throughout the world, all the while posing as an "honest broker." Qatar is the quintessential arsonist who then wants to bask in the glory of putting out the fire he set. The hostage negotiations are a case in point. It should come as a surprise to nobody who knows Qatar's modus operandi that Qatar, which is synonymous with Hamas, has paid for consultants advising the Israeli families of Hamas's Gaza hostages. Qatar's massive propaganda machine, including Al-Jazeera, and the targeted exploitation of its fossil fuel wealth by buying influence throughout Western societies -- up to and including what appears to be outright bribery -- means that many people have been unaware of the extreme extent of Qatar's multi-pronged stealth strategy to spread its malign brand of Wahhabi Islamism. Up until less than two years ago, I didn't know. Now I know. Now you know. * Guest contributor John Mirisch was elected to the Beverly Hills City Council in 2009 and has served three terms as mayor. He is also the Chief Policy Officer of ICAN (the Israeli-American Civic Action Network).
