Gianni Infantino, Jay Shah and the rise of sport’s super-execs
Infantino at Fifa and Shah at the ICC are styling themselves as super-execs like Musk and Zuckerberg but it won’t end well, warns Matt Readman.
In sport, the best referees go unnoticed. They quietly manage the game, letting play flow and leaving the athletes to shine. Occasionally they must enforce the law, but they are guardians of the story, not the story themselves.
I’ve always thought that the referee is a good analogy for sport’s governors – CEOs, presidents and chairs – who rule the games we love. They are not kings, they are caretakers. Responsible for something precious, something fragile, something that belongs to millions.
Traditionally those who played these roles did so in a relatively quiet and administrative way. Leaders were either chosen because of their lifelong service to the sport, or as a highly qualified and proven professional. They are often famous in their world, but not the world.
That is starting to change, as more sports leaders are trying to put themselves front and centre. Fifa president Gianni Infantino had his name engraved not once but twice on the new Club World Cup trophy. A recent video clip promoting cricket’s World Test Championship had more shots of ICC chairman Jay Shah than it did of the players. Are the caretakers becoming kings?
It’s a shift that’s mirroring the wider world of business. Past leaders of major corporations have rarely been household names, but in 2025 super-execs like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are as famous as the brands they created. This has put more pressure on all modern leaders to do the same.
It’s not just in the world of business of course; global politics is increasingly being run by “strong men” leaders. If you want to rub shoulders with this crowd you need to behave in a similar way.
Finally, challenger sports have used the super-exec as a weapon to gain attention and credibility fast. The success of Dana White in the UFC has persuaded new leagues and competitions that they need similar, which is why we have seen frontmen like Greg Norman at LIV Golf, Gerard Pique at Kings League and, most recently, Mike Tindall at rugby’s R360.
As a result, modern sports leaders are building their own profiles in a new way, creating a more direct connection to fans through podcasts and content.
Sport’s leaders should be caretakers not kings
What’s the problem, you might ask? High-profile sports leaders add characters and drama to the story. Does it matter if a football club owner is more famous than its manager – or even its players, in the case of Ryan Reynolds?
Not at all if those leaders prioritise the sport over themselves. But it’s here that the referee analogy is helpful. Because there are certainly referees who aren’t happy to just curate the story; they want to be it. And they are rarely popular.
This is the warning to sport’s super leaders. It rarely ends well if you become the story.
When you fly too close to the sun, the wax begins to melt. If Tesla’s tumbling share price isn’t a stark enough parable, then Bill Sweeney’s vote of confidence survival at the RFU, or the PGA player backlash to Jay Monahan are reminders that these roles can’t be autocratic.
As frustrating as committees, votes and groupthink are in a fast-moving world of sport, leaders can’t forget that sport fundamentally belongs to those who play it and support it, not those that govern it.
While the role of the sport super-exec will undoubtedly continue to rise, perhaps we should do what they did in Ancient Rome to triumphant generals and have a supporter on hand to whisper in their ear that they are only human.
Be a caretaker, not a king.
Matt Readman is chief strategy officer at sports marketing agency Dark Horses.