FIFA Sucks

For the longest time, people in the sporting community have thought that the world governing body for soccer, the Federation Internationale de Football Association, also called FIFA for short, has been an arrogant, conniving organization, a borderline criminal governing association, a complete and total cesspool of sleaze. And those are the people who LIKE FIFA.

Throughout the world, futbol fans have long suspected there has been some hanky panky going on with FIFA as it has gone through its secretive, non-transparent, and some might call insidious vetting process to choose which countries it wants to host its crown jewel sporting event, The World Cup.

“What are these people thinking?” people shouted out, as FIFA controversially awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia, a dubious choice given its connection to internal corruption and international political instability. And even more so, the sporting world was shocked when the basically non-soccer country of Qatar, a country with no real history in the world of soccer and a country with oppressively hot summers that would be happening right in the middle of the tournament’s scheduled playing times, in other words, a country with no real “right” to get the gig, GOT the 2022 World Cup.

People REALLY smelled a rat around those FIFA decisions, but no one really had any hard proof that anything sleazy could have happened. Someone once conducted an investigative study about FIFA’s potential corruption, but FIFA utilized its own Ethics Committee to clear themselves of any wrongdoing. (In other words, the fox was accused of robbing the hen house, and the fox was cleared of the crime by “a trial of his fellow foxes”) Could those winning countries have “paid off” the voting members of FIFA to have won those controversial votes?

And THEN, the crap hit the fan. The United States Justice Department indicted 14 FIFA officials for 47 counts of such charges as racketeering, wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money (on U.S. soil). Apparently, the suspects are alleged to have taken over $150 million in bribes and kickbacks for such various things as television contracts, marketing rights, and in some cases, for selling their votes on hosting World Cups to the highest bidder.

Apparently, one of the members of the FIFA illuminati was caught by the FBI and he was convinced to wear a wire to capture conversations where, ultimately, enough FIFA officials (the 14 suspects, I guess) blabbed enough about their various extractions of money from all of the companies and countries being forced to “buy their way in,” that the Justice Dept. had enough evidence to make these massive charges.

This FIFA scandal is unfolding far more extensive than anyone thought it could. It is unfortunate that the same thing that other people call corruption, bribery and racketeering, FIFA calls “doing good business.” There is no longer any doubt in anybody’s minds that the same organization that insists on putting their name FIFA in front of the prestigious World Cup have now sullied that name to a degree that threatens their sport’s world standing. It would be like having the La Cosa Nostra Stanley Cup in hockey, or the Tammany Hall Super Bowl in American football.

How can people think ANYTHING is on the up and up anymore in soccer when members from the group that governs the sport has been allowed to game the system and to run the sport of soccer more like a mafia business than a legitimate sport? Is that the extent of the crimes, or is this just the tip of the iceberg? Who else is corrupt? Is anyone honest? The Boss (Tweed?) of FIFA, a man named Sepp Blatter (I’m not kidding about that name), certainly took no responsibility for the alleged racketeering that occurred under his watch, even though he is the PRESIDENT of the organization. He claimed he was “not responsible for monitoring all of the people who work under him all of the time.” I guess another PRESIDENT (a man named Nixon) turned out to be pretty aware of some similar “criminal activity” that occurred under HIS watch. This FIFA story has a stench that can be detected from all corners of the world.

There are over a billion soccer fans who watch the World Cup every time it’s played. People want to see and read about balls being kicked, not kickbacks. This is a crime of the worst kind. This is a crime where people’s trust that things are being done right, and instead they (and a whole lot of people who want to be involved in something as prestigious as the World Cup) get “shaken down” by some racketeers. Because, ultimately it’s the people who end up paying for all of these extracted payments (in the form of higher ticket prices, higher TV broadcast costs, higher merchandise costs, etc.)

FIFA was given the job of governing their sport for the one billion fans who love the sport of soccer. They put out that image that if a child works hard at playing soccer, he can rise up and be good enough to play in this great event, The World Cup. Only, instead of it being a meritocracy, where the best rises to the top and earns their success, it is now a racket, where he who pays the most in bribes and kickbacks gets rewarded with the “victory.”

And so, instead of rewarding that fan loyalty by a high degree of integrity, FIFA instead treats those fans (who adore their soccer so much that they follow the World Cup with undying passion) and everyone else involved in the merchandising, the sponsoring and the broadcasting of their sport’s premier event, like complete and total shit. They want to shake them down and extract every cent out of EVERYONE that they can. Why? Because they can. At least, up until now.

They say that power corrupts, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. FIFA has been allowed to have absolute power over the worldwide sport of soccer and they have proven themselves to be unworthy of that job. FIFA truly has proven themselves to be a big, massive cesspool of sleaze. I hope they go right down the toilet. FIFA sucks!!!!!