FIFA Halt World Cup TV Deal

Fifa have terminated a 2014 World Cup TV deal after discovering rights had been sub-licensed to a company owned by former vice-president Jack Warner.

Warner’s JDI had the rights after an agreement with the Caribbean Football Union.

Warner, who was at that time also the CFU’s president, sold the rights to Jamaica-based cable TV station SportsMax in 2007 for a fee reported to be between 18million and 20million US dollars, though that included the 2010 World Cup as well.

FIFA were also owed several payments dating back to 2009 for the rights, which covered 29 Caribbean countries.

Warner resigned from all football activities in June, a month after being charged with bribery by FIFA, who then dropped their investigation saying they no longer had jurisdiction over the Trinidadian.

FIFA said in a statement to the Press Association: “The CFU was a media rights licensee for FIFA events in selected territories in the Caribbean. However, CFU is no longer a media rights licensee of FIFA. FIFA has secured good coverage in the region directly, but has still not finalised any announcement.”

Warner has claimed that FIFA’s action is “designed to go after me” and that he was shocked that the CFU had been targeted.