A threat facing the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup could reportedly jeopardise Mamelodi Sundowns' chances of a massive R1 billion payday.
The Betway Premiership giants are set to feature at the new-look competition alongside fellow African sides Al Ahly of Egypt, Tunisia's ES Tunis, and Rulani Mokwena's Wydad Athletic Club.
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Just for qualifying for the tournament, which will also feature teams such as Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich, among others, it is believed each side will receive a whopping fee of $50 million (about R1 billion).
However, the competition that is set to grow from just eight teams to 32 participating clubs is reportedly in jeopardy.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, via Mundo Deportivo, FIFA are facing a major problem with television rights that have not been sold in America, Asia, the Middle East or Africa.
The deadline to submit proposals for these is reported to have closed on Tuesday.
Adding to FIFA's reported worries is a lack of sponsorship for the tournament, as well as complaints about the packed fixture calendar.
While the CWC is scheduled set to take place in America between 15 June and 13 July 2025, it is claimed no venues has been confirmed, with a lack of funds also considered to be an issue.
This is said to have caused Serie A giants Inter Milan and Juventus to be "on alert" regarding the situation.
As a result, FIFA president Gianni Infantino is understood to have called a "crisis council" that will include the presence of various television channels across the globe.
Other issues he is currently faced with include the fact that the UEFA European U21 Championship which will take place from 12 June to 5 July, and the Concacaf Gold Cup is also scheduled to take place between 14 June and 7 July.
In addition to that, the transfer window will also be open for sides during the time the CWC is scheduled to be played.
While the tournament is understood to still be going ahead as things stand, it remains to be seen if any major changes are forthcoming as a result of the above concerns.
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It has also been suggested that FIFPRO – the worldwide representative organisation for 65 000 professional footballers – is intending to step in after the players' unions in both England and France launched a campaign against the tournament going ahead.