ESPN reportedly discussed Gianni Infantino plan for U-15 World Cup
The scheming of Gianni Infantino to bring private equity into world soccer has brought chaos to FIFA. But his plans go beyond selling a stake in the World Cup and reportedly involve a children’s competition inspired by the Little League World Series with a potential partner in ESPN. ESPN has televised the Little League World…
ESPN reportedly considered a collaboration with FIFA to host a U-15 World Cup tournament, inspired by the Little League World Series. The plan involved all 211 FIFA nations and featured the event being broadcast and hosted by ESPN at Disney World's Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Florida. However, the proposed tournament, which would have had opening and closing ceremonies at Disney theme parks, did not materialize.
FIFA later announced a U-15 World Cup and Festival to be held in Baku this October. Despite criticism against FIFA President Gianni Infantino, particularly regarding plans for a private investment in the World Cup, the discussions with ESPN around the U-15 tournament highlight a potential relationship between the two sides ahead of the men's World Cup rights market.
The success of the 2026 World Cup on Fox Sports has made the U-15 World Cup a less attractive business proposition for ESPN compared to hosting and broadcasting the Little League event.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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