Sepp Blatter And The Death Of The World Cup (revised)

I just realized this never got published. It's actually a few years old but given the recent uncovering of actual proof of corruption it's still very relevant.


The recent decision to host the WC in Russia then Qatar have put a further serious dent in my love of the worlds greatest sporting event.

After a largely disappointing South African tournament (my own country's lame performance not withstanding) the shady and overtly corrupt nature in which the future hosts were chosen should have all fans in the traditional football nations up in arms against FIFA president Sepp Blatter and other delegates.

To a certain extent I could have appreciated the choice to host the tournament in Russia until I saw the series of shady dealings between FIFA delegates and Russian oligarchs and the practicality of such a massive country pulling it off.

If the Russian choice smelled a little, the Qatar choice was outrageous, and after listening to various reporters from the soccer press, then reading accounts from my favourite journalists and websites, I came up with following series of rhetorical questions, thoughts and facts that make up the absolute rottenness that is FIFA.

The Russian bid:

FIFA headquarters are in Geneva Switzerland, the home of anonymous numbered bank accounts.

Meetings and votes are behind closed doors with no transparency. Only press tip-offs tell us what transpires behind these closed doors. Imagine the suspicion's aroused when Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich met in private with Blatter and other members.

After being told that they had the best bid, England embarrassingly sent their future king and current prime minister to make a final presentation. They, along with other bidders were led to believe that the decision was still not made. It was implied that Russian PM Putin would be there in person too, after another private phonecall with Blatter he decided it wasn't necessary.....I've drawn my own conclusions.

If Russia does deserve to host then the practicalities of providing 8-12 new stadiums and the infrastructure such as transportation, accommodation etc. in such a huge country seems impossible.

Russia is simply massive, it's the largest country in the world, it occupies one ninth of the worlds land mass, it has 9 time zones! Simply getting from one venue to another is a major undertaking....England fans - You know we'll be in Siberia! Many of these cities are unheard of, unfriendly and poverty stricken. As of now some of them are not directly transport connected. Sound like fun?

The Qatar bid.

As I am writing this, Blatter and other FIFA delegates are suggesting that the WC be moved to December- January. Apparently they have incredulously just realized that it gets very hot in that part of the world. 120- 140 degrees! No thought given beforehand that changing the date would clash with the African cup of Nations, The Asian cup, The European leagues, The winter Olympics, The height of the American sports calendar? No thought at all given to the heat problem during the voting?

Once again, outside money can fix anything. The oil sheiks will simply air condition the whole tournament. Easy! 12 stadiums in a country the size of Greater Manchester. Unlike Russia there is now the possibility of 32 nations fans condensed into an artificially created soccer Mall.

This time around the voting screwed other countries that had been led to believe they had a chance to host. Blatter himself encouraged Australia to spend tens of millions of dollars putting together a bid - they got one vote, their own.

June 2014.
It looks like FIFA will finally be fully investigated. The embodiment of this loathsome organization is Blatter. I've never looked more forward to a persons potential demise!
Rumours have started to surface about Qatar being humiliated and are planning to pull out.
Australia and U.S. have been told to start contingency plans,