FIFA's new 10-story building in the center of Zurich is "scheduled to open on Sunday, two days after FIFA elects a new president," according to Rebecca Ruiz of the N.Y. TIMES. The building will "house a soccer museum," and is "centered on soccer exhibits and memorabilia but in addition to apartments also houses a restaurant, a sports bar, office space and a conference center." As it prepares to "open the museum, FIFA is in the complicated position of unveiling celebratory retrospectives on world soccer while responding to criminal investigations into its leadership." Ruiz wrote it is "hard to dissociate the project" from suspended FIFA President Sepp Blatter. Details of the museum project -- "including construction costs and staff salaries -- are opaque, as are the operating financials of FIFA's hospitality holdings." FIFA Museum Managing Dir Stefan Jost said that the museum "would not make as much money as it had cost and would require a subsidy." Ruiz noted some "wonder about the appropriateness of routing cash toward commercial enterprise -- especially a potentially money-losing one -- over potential grass-roots soccer development" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/24).
LIMITED EXPOSURE: In London, Martyn Ziegler wrote "even a cynic would find it hard not to be impressed by the memorabilia that has been collected, the creative vision of the people behind the project and the sheer enjoyment of the interactive games aimed at younger generations but with an appeal to all." There is "something for everybody." Blatter's influence on the project is "glossed over, though it is not a complete airbrushing: he remains on the wall of honour of FIFA presidents and in the film in the museum's cinema." Ziegler: "In terms of vanity projects, the [$32M] cost of fitting out the museum represents far better value than the similar sum spent by Blatter on United Passions, the unwatchable film about FIFA 'starring' Tim Roth as the infamous president" (THETIMES.co.uk, 2/24). Also in London, Charles Sale added the museum "is no homage to Blatter." Instead it is an "impressive modern museum concentrating on the history of the World Cup, with plenty of family-friendly interactive features." The exposure is "minimal compared to what might have been expected in a Blatter-influenced project" (DAILYMAIL.co.uk, 2/24).
