The World Cup has begun and after all the controversy that plagued the event in the lead-up, this reporter has thoroughly enjoyed the quality of the football over the opening four days of the tournament. It’s good to see that no matter what off-field events might shroud it, the fans will always have the wonderful spectacle of football itself to fall back on.
No doubt once the final has been run and won in Rio de Janeiro on 13 July, the top brass from world football’s governing body FIFA will shake hands, pat themselves on the back and head home to their mansions and flashy sports cars – but we can’t let the story end there. We can’t forget the allegations of bribes and corruption that surfaced just a few weeks back in relation to Qatar’s successful 2022 bid, nor the self-serving hypocrisy that has surrounded FIFA’s wishy-washy responses since. It’s time they were held to account.
For those of you who haven’t been following the story closely, English newspaper The Sunday Times published explosive evidence that former FIFA committee member Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar had pumped at least US$5 million worth of bribes the way of FIFA officials – essentially “buying” the World Cup for his country.
Accused of bribery – Mohamed bin Hammam
The news stunned FIFA officials, although not too many others given what a strange choice Qatar seemed to be when first announced in 2010. Of the five bids teams that went after the 2022 Cup – the others being Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States – Qatar seemed the least likely option given its extreme heat at this time of year, cultural issues certain to make life difficult for fans and the fact that it has a football pedigree about as decorated as a lone piece of tinsel on the Eiffel Tower. Overnight it has been revealed that FIFA was also warned about serious security risks should Qatar host the World Cup only months before they were announced as the winners.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter
Embattled FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s predictable response to the allegations has been to cry racism and to claim of his “enemies” that, “They want to destroy us. They don’t want to destroy football but they want to destroy the institution”. Well, as far as I’m concerned it is time to destroy the institution if that institution is FIFA in its current guise. It’s time the officials who benefited financially from the Qatar deal and others – and rest assured there have been other dodgy dealings over the years – are brought to account.
As it stands, FIFA is a law unto itself but they can be made to face up to what they’ve done. Hitting them where it hurts would be a good start. We all know money is important to them and it hasn’t escaped our attention that it is again FIFA, not Brazil, that will benefit the most financially from the current World Cup – even if the South American nation can hardly afford the US$14 million-plus it is estimated to have spent on staging it. Already a few major sponsors, led by Sony, have officially warned FIFA they expect the allegations to be taken seriously. If they’re not, let’s hope these sponsors live up to their word and pull out altogether.
Some consider the Qatar controversy to be FIFA’s last chance to show they still have some integrity by revoking their bid and awarding it to one of the other four bidding nations, but in my opinion it’s already too late for that. The time has come for FIFA as we know it to be disbanded, for a new organization to take control and for football to again become a sport for the people. Unfortunately, such lofty dreams are easier said than done.
