FIFA just sold football’s history to the highest bidder.
The removal of analytic data on @FBref is a calculated heist of public knowledge to protect a 2026 World Cup gambling monopoly.
Stats Perform (@OptaSTATS) is taking the heat but FIFA is equally to blame.
A 🧵(1/10)
On Jan 12, FIFA named Stats Perform (@OptaSTATS) its exclusive betting data distributor.
8 days later, @FBref was ordered to scrub a decade of stats to kill the free "competition."
This is not coincidental.
(2/10)
inside.fifa.com/tournament-org…
This is a total erasure. 10 years of expected goals (xG), xA, and defensive logs are just gone.
Not just stopping updates, but wiping the entire historical archive. They didn't just turn off the lights; they burned down the library.
(3/10)
FIFA is letting @OptaSTATS take the blame but they're the architect behind it. They’ve spent years privatizing stats to sell them exclusively to the gambling industry. They clear the field of free alternatives making their official partners more expensive for bookmakers.
(4/10)
This is a pattern.
FIFA split with EA Sports after demanding over 1 billion dollars for naming rights. They’ve also moved tracking data into the private FIFA Player App and FIFA+ freemium model, stripping away info that isn't under their paywall.
(5/10)
Stats Perform (@OptaSTATS) went along though. They torched a good relationship w/ @fbref with strong legal language and zero notice leaving the site blindsided.
They chose to be the corporate muscle for FIFA’s enclosure, killing the community that built their reputation.
(6/10)
To make "Official Data" worth billions to sportsbooks, you must eliminate free sources.
That’s what @fbref provides.
If you can get xG for free, the "exclusive" feed they’re selling to bookies loses its commercial value.
(7/10)
Is this legal?
A UK DCMS hearing is already scrutinizing this partnership, questioning if FIFA’s move to monetize betting streams violates broadcasting protections and the organization's own ethical obligations.
But @FIFAcom has never been bothered by things like laws.
(8/10)
But for now it’s the end of independent analysis. We're losing the right to audit the game. When a broadcast pushes "Official xG," you’ll have no free way to verify it. FIFA and Stats Perform have turned objective facts into a proprietary gambling asset.
(9/10)
The 2026 World Cup is becoming masterclass in how to sell the soul of the game for money, and creating an an analytical graveyard is just the latest example.
This is institutional greed, not progress.
(10/F)
I discussed this further this morning on our channel:
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