#fifa corruption

[ferrarer17]

Keep talking Leah… hopefully the people we need to will listen.

Leah Williamson: 'Qatar World Cup is against everything I believe in, football is for everyone'

Speaking to i's Katherine Lucas, the England captain talks about the importance of inclusive grassroots clubs, the fight for girls' football

[worldofwardcraft]

The blood-soaked cup.

April 11,2022

Normally, WoW confines its opinions strictly to issues having to do with politics. But today finds us venturing into the world of sport. Recently, the US men's soccer team qualified for the World Cup, the quadrennial tournament that is the most-watched sporting event on the planet. And while we applaud their accomplishment, it must also be noted that the sponsor of this competition is a brazenly corrupt organization and the host country a horribly barbaric society.

Founded in 1904, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the governing body of the world's most popular sport. But for years that organization has been a hotbed of unbridled corruption. In 2015, for example, fourteen of its directors were indicted in the US over alleged bribery, fraud and money laundering in connection with an estimated $150 million worth of media and marketing rights for FIFA games in the Americas. At the same time, ousted FIFA president Sepp Blatter and board member Michel Platini were charged with fraud by Swiss authorities over a bribe to ensure Blatter's reelection.

In 2010, FIFA announced that the 2018 World Cup would be played in Russia (a brutal dictatorship) and the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar (a brutal monarchy) would host it in 2022. But, as The New York Times reported, US Department of Justice investigators determined that money was paid (we don't know how much) "to five members of FIFA’s top board ahead of the 2010 vote to choose Russia and Qatar as hosts."

Beyond the bribery, Qatar was a problematic choice for several reasons. For one, its intense summer heat meant FIFA had to move the tournament to November. Further, the tiny nation (about twice the size of Delaware) had almost no existing infrastructure to support the games. Which is why the oil-rich country doled out a staggering $200 billion to build seven new stadiums, an airport, hotels, roads and a public transport systems.  

But, as The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre testified, all that construction led to human rights abuses against as many as 24,000 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka who toiled on those projects. In addition to unpaid wages and withheld benefits, these workers endured squalid accomodations and working conditions so unsafe as to cause the deaths of 50 workers and injuries to some 38,000 in 2021 alone, according to the International Labour Organization.

Amidst the hype and hoopla, the games and goals, we shouldn't forget that this year's soccer World Cup comes covered in sordid corruption and needless deaths.

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Qatar’s Tarnished World Cup

Heidi Blake, who broke the story of how Qatar bribed its way to hosting the 2022 World Cup, writes that, now that the soccer tournament has

I don’t think I need to say anything…

[ferrarer17]

KARMA!!

I saw this on the news and just had to post it. This man is a disgrace to football with his biting and blatant cheating against Ghana in 2010 with that handball that he is not sorry for. He should have been banned for life with his behaviour but once again money and greed was more important.

[ferrarer17]

I am so disappointed by David Beckham. He could have spoken out, made a stand for change due to his popularity, but instead he took a pay day.

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Me trying to negotiate my classroom while the kids have the World Cup on.

I’m stuck in such a dilemma. I work with SEN children between the ages of 7-10. I have got some real football fanatics and they will have no understanding of why this World Cup is such a disgrace. We have been told not to theme our work on the World Cup and I certainly will not. But I have to acknowledge the interests of these children due to their limited ability to comprehend what’s going on and why it’s so wrong. It simply means too much to them.

To them it’s just the best time to be a football fan. And for me as one also… it usually would.

[ferrarer17]

Pundits on Qatar controversies and 'bizarre' Infantino rant

Watch as BBC Sport pundits Alan Shearer, Alex Scott and Ashely Williams have an important conversation surrounding the World Cup in Qatar.

Very interesting to watch and a lot of very important issues raised.

[madrosie]

I'm considering putting money on the USA winning the world cup because Trump has bought/Threatened/Pressured FIFA for it to work out that way and FIFA are a spineless corrupt organization and then another bet for it to be overturned after an investigation into the corruption...