FOOTBALL STOPPED FIFA this summer. It took a public row, pressure from across the game and the threat of a wider revolt to do it.(这需要一场公开争吵、来自整个足球界的压力以及更大范围反抗的威胁才得以实现。) The cause was FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a proposal to place the commercial rights and event operations of the game’s governing body in a new company. Outside investors would have been offered a 20% stake(股份；利害关系), raising up to $4.2bn at a valuation(估值；估价) of about $20bn. FIFA argued that the deal could unlock(释放；开启) much more money for development across its 211 national member associations.
今年夏天，足球运动叫停了国际足联（FIFA）。这需要一场公开争吵、来自整个足球界的压力以及更大范围反抗的威胁才得以实现。起因是“FIFA Forward Enterprise”（FFE）计划，该提议拟将足球管理机构（FIFA）的商业权利和赛事运营置于一家新公司名下。外部投资者将获得20%的股份，按约200亿美元的估值可筹集高达42亿美元。FIFA辩称，这笔交易可以为其211个国家会员协会的发展释放更多资金。
The promise of more predictable(可预测的) funding for football development was attractive, but the price and process were not. FFE would have given private investors a lasting claim on World Cup revenues and a role in core operations before the valuation, safeguards, potential conflicts of interest and remuneration arrangements had been properly disclosed and tested.(FFE本会在估值、保障措施、潜在利益冲突和薪酬安排得到充分披露和检验之前，就给予私人投资者对世界杯收入的长期索取权以及在核心运营中的角色。) It also tied an irreversible(不可逆转的) transaction to the immediate promise of more money for member associations at a time when Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s president, is up for re-election(谋求连任). That is why opposition spread quickly across confederation(联合会；联盟)s, national associations and professional football, prompting FIFA to pull the plan(撤回计划). That was the right outcome. It was not, however, proof that the system works. A healthy governance model should not need a last-minute coalition(联盟；联合) every time a big decision goes too far.
为足球发展提供更可预测资金的承诺颇具吸引力，但代价和过程却并非如此。FFE本会在估值、保障措施、潜在利益冲突和薪酬安排得到充分披露和检验之前，就给予私人投资者对世界杯收入的长期索取权以及在核心运营中的角色。它还将一项不可逆转的交易与向会员协会立即提供更多资金的承诺捆绑在一起，而此时正值国际足联主席詹尼·因凡蒂诺谋求连任之际。因此，反对声迅速蔓延至各大洲足联、国家协会和职业足球界，迫使国际足联撤回了该计划。这是正确的结果。然而，这并不能证明现行体制有效。一个健康的治理模式不应每次在大决策越界时都需要最后一刻的联盟来纠偏。
The easy response is to say that FIFA has too much power and should simply be weakened(被削弱). I do not agree. A global sport needs a global authority. Someone has to organise the World Cup, maintain common rules and move money towards(将资金转向) countries where the market would otherwise invest very little. One association, one vote is imperfect(不完美的), but it gives smaller football nations a formal place in the system.
简单的回应是说国际足联权力过大，应当直接削弱它。我不同意这种看法。全球性的运动需要全球性的权威。必须有人来组织世界杯、维护共同规则，并将资金流向那些否则市场几乎不会投资的地区。一国一票的机制并不完美，但它给了较小的足球国家在体系中的正式位置。