ZURICH — Swiss authorities conducted an extraordinary early-morning operation here Wednesday to arrest several top soccer officials and extradite them to the United States on federal corruption charges.
As leaders of FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, gathered for their annual meeting, more than a dozen plain-clothed Swiss law enforcement officials arrived unannounced at the Baur au Lac hotel, an elegant five-star property with views of the Alps and Lake Zurich. They went to the front desk to get keys and proceeded upstairs to the rooms.
The arrests were carried out peacefully, with at least two men being ushered out of the hotel without handcuffs. One FIFA official, Eduardo Li of Costa Rica, was led by the authorities from his room to a side-door exit of the hotel. He was allowed to bring his luggage, which was adorned with FIFA logos.
The charges allege widespread corruption in FIFA over the past two decades, involving bids for World Cups as well as marketing and broadcast deals, according to three law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the case. The charges include wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering, and officials said they targeted members of FIFA’s powerful executive committee, which wields enormous power and does its business largely in secret.
The arrests were a startling blow to FIFA, a multibillion-dollar organization that governs the world’s most popular sport but has been plagued by accusations of bribery for decades.
The inquiry is also a major threat to Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s longtime president who is generally recognized as the most powerful person in sports, though he was not charged. An election, seemingly pre-ordained to give him a fifth term as president, is scheduled for Friday.
Prosecutors planned to unseal an indictment against more than 10 officials, not all of whom are in Zurich, law enforcement officials said. Among them are Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands, a vice president of the executive committee; Eugenio Figueredo of Uruguay, who is also an executive committee vice president and until recently was the president of South America’s soccer association; and Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago, a former member of the executive committee who has been accused of numerous ethical violations.
“We’re struck by just how long this went on for and how it touched nearly every part of what FIFA did,” said a law enforcement official. “It just seemed to permeate every element of the federation and was just their way of doing business. It seems like this corruption was institutionalized.”
The Justice Department, the F.B.I. and FIFA did not have any immediate comment.
The case is the most significant yet for United States Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, who took office last month. She previously served as the United States attorney in Brooklyn, where she supervised the FIFA investigation. Ms. Lynch and F.B.I. Director James Comey were expected to hold a news conference on Wednesday morning in New York.
With more than $1.5 billion in reserves, FIFA is as much a global financial conglomerate as a sports organization. With countries around the world competing aggressively to win the bid to host the World Cup, Mr. Blatter has commanded the fealty of anyone who wanted a piece of that revenue stream. He and FIFA have weathered corruption controversies in the past, but none involved charges of federal crimes in United States court.
United States law gives the Justice Department wide authority to bring cases against foreign nationals living abroad, an authority that prosecutors have used repeatedly in international terrorism cases. Those cases can hinge on the slightest connection to the United States, like the use of an American bank or Internet service provider.
Switzerland’s treaty with the United States is unusual in that it gives Swiss authorities the power to refuse extradition for tax crimes, but on matters of general criminal law, the Swiss have agreed to turn people over for prosecution in American courts.
The case further mars the reputation of FIFA’s leader, Mr. Blatter, who has for years acted as a de facto head of state. Politicians, star players, national soccer officials and global corporations that want their brands attached to the sport have long genuflected before him.
Critics of FIFA point to the lack of transparency regarding executive salaries and resource allocations for an organization that, by its own admission, had revenue of $5.7 billion from 2011 to 2014. Policy decisions are also often taken without debate or explanation, and a small group of officials — known as the executive committee — operates with outsize power. FIFA has for years operated with little oversight and even less transparency. Alexandra Wrage, a governance consultant who once unsuccessfully attempted to help overhaul FIFA’s methods, famously labeled the organization “byzantine and impenetrable.”
Continue reading the main story
Law enforcement officials said much of the inquiry involves Concacaf, one of the six regional confederations that compose FIFA. Concacaf — which stands for Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football — includes major countries like the United States and Mexico, and also tiny ones like Barbados and Montserrat.
Photo
Jeffrey Webb, left, the president of Concacaf, with FIFA’s president, Sepp Blatter, during the Concacaf U-17 championships in 2013. Credit Arnulfo Franco/Associated Press
Concacaf was led from 1990 to 2011 by Mr. Warner, the longtime head of Trinidad & Tobago’s federation. A key powerbroker in FIFA’s governing executive committee, Mr. Warner had been dogged by accusations of corruption. He was accused of illegally profiting from the resale of tickets to the 2006 World Cup, and of withholding the bonuses of the Trinidad players who participated in that tournament.
Mr. Warner resigned his positions in FIFA, Concacaf and his national association in 2011 amid mounting evidence that he had been part of an attempt to buy the votes of Caribbean federation officials in the 2010 FIFA presidential election. A 2013 Concacaf report also found that he had received tens of millions of dollars in misappropriated funds.
But according to the rules of FIFA at the time, Mr. Warner’s resignation led to the immediate closure of all ethics committee cases against him. “The presumption of innocence is maintained,” FIFA said in a short statement announcing his departure.
No recent incident better encapsulated FIFA’s unusual power dynamic than the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments, which many observers found to be flawed from the start: the decision to award two tournaments at once, critics said, would invite vote-trading and other inducements.
Since only the 24 members of the executive committee would decide on the hosts, persuading even a few of them might be enough to swing the vote. Even before the vote took place, two committee members — Amos Adamu of Nigeria and Reynald Temarii of Tahiti — were suspended after an investigation by The Sunday Times caught both men on tape asking for payments in exchange for their support. It was later revealed by England’s bid chief that four ExCo members had solicited bribes from him for their votes; one asked for $2.5 million, while another, Nicolas Leoz of Paraguay, requested a knighthood.
As new accounts of bribery continued to emerge — a whistleblower who worked for the Qatar bid team claimed that several African officials were paid $1.5 million each to support Qatar — FIFA in 2012 started an investigation of the bid process. It was led by a former United States attorney, Michael J. Garcia, who spent nearly two years compiling a report. That report, however, has never been made public; instead, the top judge on the ethics committee, the German Joachim Eckert, released a summary of the report. In it, he declared that while violations of the code of ethics had occurred, they had not affected the integrity of the vote.
Within hours, Garcia had criticised Eckert’s summary as incorrect and incomplete, charging that it contained “numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts.” Nonetheless, FIFA moved quickly to embrace the report’s absolution of the bid process. Qatar World Cup officials said the review had upheld “the integrity and quality of our bid,” And Russia’s sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, told reporters, “I hope we will not have talk about this again.”
Compel wrote: Silly question... But why the FBI and America?
Many of the alleged offences occurred on US soil, or went through US banks.
A whistle-blower who exposed corrupt practices over the Qatar 2022 world cup bid, has had death threats made against her. The whistle blower is a US citizen.
All in all, there is legal justification for this.
Nope 100% serious. FIFA if a business from the looks of it. Why is it unreasonable for
1: Them to ask for money for their evens to be played
2: For countries to fork over dough if they want the event in their country.
hotsauceman1 wrote: Nope 100% serious. FIFA if a business from the looks of it. Why is it unreasonable for
1: Them to ask for money for their evens to be played
2: For countries to fork over dough if they want the event in their country.
hotsauceman1 wrote: Nope 100% serious. FIFA if a business from the looks of it. Why is it unreasonable for
1: Them to ask for money for their evens to be played
2: For countries to fork over dough if they want the event in their country.
Not sure if serious...
FIFA asking for money for their events to be held in a particular country is not the problem here, bribing the individual members of the committee that is supposed to make the decision is.
Compel wrote: Silly question... But why the FBI and America?
Many of the alleged offences occurred on US soil, or went through US banks.
A whistle-blower who exposed corrupt practices over the Qatar 2022 world cup bid, has had death threats made against her. The whistle blower is a US citizen.
All in all, there is legal justification for this.
Cheers, my thought process was pretty much. "If ever there was a country in the world that cared least about football..."
The Qatar bid is such an absurd joke.....IMO, the cup really should rotate between about 5 different sites around the world, all of whom have the infrastructure to hold the event without spending billions, in no particular order:
1. England/the UK 2. Germany
3. Spain/France
4. USA
5. Japan/S. Korea
I'd love to add Brazil to the list now that they've already hosted one and because of their rich heritage, but there were tons of reported problems with the last one, and they spent a ton of money that should have been spent on their citizenry.
China would probably work well, too, but the disrepair of all their Olympic facilities is disheartening.
But, I do agree Cincy. I say the same of the olympics, but with a few more countries. While it can bring in money, building those stadiums often leaves alot of the more poorer people displaced by the building.
But, I do agree Cincy. I say the same of the olympics, but with a few more countries. While it can bring in money, building those stadiums often leaves alot of the more poorer people displaced by the building.
Typically only when structures are erected specifically for the Olympics. That's why the countries I listed make sense; they already have a massive stadium and hotel infrastructure. No new construction is really needed.
Dropbear Victim wrote: If there was ever a time for police brutality, this is it. Get 'em, America!
I heard it actually was quite the brutal affair. Half of the arrested individuals suffered life threatening injuries when the police came within 5 feet of them. They hit the ground, immediately clutching at knees and ankles in apparent agony
But, I do agree Cincy. I say the same of the olympics, but with a few more countries. While it can bring in money, building those stadiums often leaves alot of the more poorer people displaced by the building.
Wasn't one of the more recent Olympiads facilities, particularly the "Olympic Village" where many teams' athletes and staff stayed get given over to displaced poor, or become some new low income housing??
Some facilities remain in use for long periods of time of course... for instance the bobsled runs in Lake Placid and now Salt Lake City have become national training grounds for the US bobsled/luge/skeleton teams. The ski jumps in UT are used almost year round for training, as they have a trampoline system for those trick jumping guys, and the material of the ramps for the jumps were made so that, even with no snow, the ski jumpers can still practice their jumps (they land in a deep pool, instead of a snowy runoff area)
Obviously, I think that stadiums like the one built for Athens or, apparently Beijing are already falling apart, but stadiums like LA Memorial gets a crap load of use to this day (home to UCLA, USC, some soccer stuff, Rose Bowl, etc. etc.)
Both Bill Clinton and his family’s charity have been tied to soccer’s governing body, as well as Qatar’s disastrous World Cup bid.
And just like that, another Clinton Foundation donor is in the news.
The Clinton global charity has received between $50,000 and $100,000 from soccer’s governing body and has partnered with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association on several occasions, according to donor listings on the foundation’s website.
Several top FIFA executives were arrested Wednesday in Zurich and face corruption charges stretching back two decades, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Involvement with the embattled body extends beyond the foundation to Bill Clinton himself. The former president was an honorary chairman of the bid committee put together to promote the United States as a possible host nation for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.
When the U.S. lost the 2022 bid to Qatar, Clinton was rumored to be so upset he shattered a mirror.
But apparently Qatar tried to make it up to him.
The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, partnering with the State of Qatar, “committed to utilizing its research and development for sustainable infrastructure at the 2022 FIFA World Cup to improve food security in Qatar, the Middle East, and other arid and water-stressed regions throughout the world,” according to the Clinton Foundation website.
The cost of the two-year project is not listed on the Clinton Foundation website, but the Qatar 2022 committee gave the foundation between $250,000 and $500,000 in 2014 and the State of Qatar gave between $1 million and $5 million in previous, unspecified years.
FIFA, which has never been a bastion of ethics, was heavily criticized for awarding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup to Russia and Qatar, respectively, in part because of their abysmal human-rights records.
The Guardian reported in 2013 about “appalling labor abuses,” including possible forced labor and worker death on Qatar’s World Cup infrastructure projects. It is also considered to be too hot to play soccer in Qatar in the summer.
No Qatari officials have been arrested, but Swiss authorities announced Wednesday that they had opened criminal proceedings into the allocation of the Qatari and Russian World Cups. They have also seized documents from FIFA’s headquarters and gained access to the Swiss bank accounts of executives they suspect of “unjust enrichment” and money laundering.
Obviously, I think that stadiums like the one built for Athens or, apparently Beijing are already falling apart, but stadiums like LA Memorial gets a crap load of use to this day (home to UCLA, USC, some soccer stuff, Rose Bowl, etc. etc.)
That's because they build them for one purpose, and didn't plan for any use afterwards. It's really pretty sad:
Oh this keeps getting better, I can just imagine the President of the BBC, sitting in his drawing room, reading this morning's Times when he lets loose a great "EGAD!" and his monocle falls into his tea with a resounding plop.
"The Americans? How can the Americans prosocute FIFA? They don't even like football!"
Yeah you think I'm telling fibs, but just look at that headline, LOOK ATIT!
If I might venture a guess, and I do so hate to go all 'Murica! on you, but maybe, just maybe the reason the US is leading the charge against FIFA corruption is the rest of y'all are gutless?
Fifa scandal: Why the US is policing a global game
America does not even like football, or so many people think. Why is it leading the charge against alleged Fifa corruption?
Spoiler:
At dawn, Swiss police rounded up seven Fifa officials at the behest of US authorities who have conducted a massive investigation into corruption at football's governing body.
So how did a country where football is more niche than entrenched come to police the world's beautiful game?
"Too many countries are cowed by Fifa," said Alexandra Wrage, a former Fifa anti-bribery adviser who resigned in protest from the organisation.
"As with international bribery more generally, the US Department of Justice has said they'll step up to investigate corruption if others won't," she said.
How can the US police a global game?
The suspects were shielded from journalists by a white sheet
Speaking to reporters just hours after the arrests in Switzerland, FBI Director James Comey set out why the US was able to act.
"If you touch our shores with your corrupt enterprise, whether that is through meetings or through using our world class financial system, you will be held accountable for that corruption," he said.
As it turns out, many of those soccer officials did both, according to the charges.
To prosecute cases that involve foreign nationals, US authorities need only prove a minor connection to the United States.
But in the case of the charges made public on Wednesday, the alleged corruption hit right at the heart of the game in the US.
FBI Director James Comey
Fifa and the confederations under it make money by selling the marketing and media rights to the World Cup and other tournaments that they organise.
The charges largely relate to "the systematic payment of bribes and kickbacks" that were paid by marketing executives who wanted to increase their chances at winning contracts for the rights to market and sell media access to tournaments.
These bribes were at times organised during meetings in the US, and some of the money was transferred through US bank accounts.
What sparked the US investigation?
At a news conference on Wednesday, the acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Kelly Currie, noted the scale of the allegations.
"This sort of bribery and corruption in international soccer has been going on for two decades. Our investigation...that itself took years," he said.
Fifa President Sepp Blatter (r) with Mohammed bin Hammam in Qatar in 2010
It is not clear what specific event - if any - prompted the US investigation. Some have pointed to the United States' failed bid in late 2010 to host the the 2022 World Cup, and suspicions that bribes were paid to encourage votes for Qatar.
"I know some people who were in the US bidding committee... they all had really strong suspicions that somebody was getting bought off," said Andrew Zimbalist, author of Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup. He told the BBC that he suspected the justice department likely got involved following the failed bid.
The choice of Qatar raised suspicions in part because of the extremely high temperatures it experiences during the summer months - a fact that prompted a Fifa taskforce to recommend the games be played in November and December rather than the usual June-July timeframe.
In the hours after the dawn arrests, Swiss authorities said they were opening a separate investigation relating to the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments.
How deep are the US ties to the case?
The Miami offices of Concacaf, the football federation under Fifa that governs the game in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, were raided by FBI agents early on Wednesday.
Two of the people who have been charged - Jeffrey Webb and Jack Warner - are the current and past heads of Concacaf, respectively.
Authorities raided Concacaf headquarters in Miami early on Wednesday
It is not clear what specifically the authorities are looking for in these raids, but many of the charges that were revealed today involve bribery and kickback schemes.
These schemes are related to the media and marketing rights for World Cup qualifying games in the Concacaf region, as well as the Concacaf Gold Cup, the Concacaf Champions League, and several others.
The Copa América, which is set to be held for the first time outside of South America in 2016 when it will be played in the US, was highlighted for the corruption that surrounds it.
"Our investigation revealed that what should have been an expression of international sportsmanship was used as a vehicle in this broader scheme to line executives' pockets with bribes totalling $110 million [£71m], nearly a third of the legitimate cost of the rights to the tournaments involved," US Attorney General Lynch said during a news conference detailing the charges.
Concacaf has been in trouble in the past.
In 2012 Concacaf turned itself into US tax authorities and admitted to not paying taxes for several years.
Chuck Blazer's plea was unsealed on Wednesday
Among those at the helm of the organisation was secretary general Chuck Blazer, who also served as a Fifa executive committee member.
It was also revealed on Wednesday that in 2013 he pleaded guilty to several charges related to corruption.
Just months ago, the New York Daily News reported that Mr Blazer has been working as an informant for US authorities.
The newspaper said that he met with soccer officials on the sidelines of the 2012 Olympics in London, and used a hidden microphone on a keychain to gather intelligence.
This report has not been independently confirmed. Officials say the corruption investigation is on-going.
"Nobody is above or beyond the law," FBI Director Comey said. "We will not stop until we send messages that this is not the way things should be and that they must be different".
But, I do agree Cincy. I say the same of the olympics, but with a few more countries. While it can bring in money, building those stadiums often leaves alot of the more poorer people displaced by the building.
Typically only when structures are erected specifically for the Olympics. That's why the countries I listed make sense; they already have a massive stadium and hotel infrastructure. No new construction is really needed.
With the olympics, arguments could be made that goes against the spirit of the olympics.
But in all reality, the Olympics is a clusterfeth when it comes to the host town specifically because the money involved.
Obviously, I think that stadiums like the one built for Athens or, apparently Beijing are already falling apart, but stadiums like LA Memorial gets a crap load of use to this day (home to UCLA, USC, some soccer stuff, Rose Bowl, etc. etc.)
That's because they build them for one purpose, and didn't plan for any use afterwards. It's really pretty sad:
But the success stories for venues constructed purely for the games/cup are few and far between.
It's why it makes more sense to host these events in countries that already have infrastructure in place to do so.
EXCEPT! EXCEPT! EXCEPT!
You're assuming the IOC/FIFA etc want affordable, sustainable events.
They do not.
They don't want to hear about your plan to hang some Olympic rings in Yankee Stadium and call it a day, no, no, no.
They want glorious new stadiums to rise, both as monuments to their glory and as massive money pits they can pluck fortunes out of.
Oh you're building a new stadium for the World Cup huh? Well it just so happens you'll need these special, special lights, which only my company makes. And you'll want a consultant to make sure you have the right kind of grass, and it just so happens my brother in law can help with that...
Can't do that if they're running the event in existing venues.
But, I do agree Cincy. I say the same of the olympics, but with a few more countries. While it can bring in money, building those stadiums often leaves alot of the more poorer people displaced by the building.
Typically only when structures are erected specifically for the Olympics. That's why the countries I listed make sense; they already have a massive stadium and hotel infrastructure. No new construction is really needed.
With the olympics, arguments could be made that goes against the spirit of the olympics.
But in all reality, the Olympics is a clusterfeth when it comes to the host town specifically because the money involved.
I'm not following how that goes against the spirit of the Olympics.
Hell, Columbus Ohio and Austin Texas are probably more equipped to handle an Olympiad/FIFA event than most countries.
You're right, though, kyoto. They want these new constructions. To hell with the cities and the massive debt they're left with. It's a shame.
Many people see the Olympics as a world thing, so limiting it to a handful of countries especially mostly European and America would go against the idea about how inclusive it is meant to be.
You can throw Australia on that list too. They have the correct infrastructure for it.
I mean, with Australia that's 4 of the 6 inhabited continents.... I'm sorry, I just don't think any South American or African country can reasonably host and not have major problems. We've seen it with both South Africa and Brazil.
hotsauceman1 wrote: Many people see the Olympics as a world thing, so limiting it to a handful of countries especially mostly European and America would go against the idea about how inclusive it is meant to be.
I think the issue there lies in the security of the games. Let's face it, many athletes, particularly in the summer games, and particularly of a select few events could be potentially VERY lucrative if they were kidnapped.... Imagine for a moment that Qatar is hosting a summer olympics, and some ISIS or Al Qaeda "operatives" were able to snatch Lebron up due to the less than adequate security.
I think that, especially since the Atlanta games in 96, security of the venues, athletes and spectators are of massive concern to organizers. Obviously, some bad things have happened during the olympics (looking at Atlanta and Munich), but IMHO, that risk is magnified if you host the games at a less than developed country.
Compel wrote: Silly question... But why the FBI and America?
Many of the alleged offences occurred on US soil, or went through US banks.
A whistle-blower who exposed corrupt practices over the Qatar 2022 world cup bid, has had death threats made against her. The whistle blower is a US citizen.
All in all, there is legal justification for this.
The US is also way more active on corporate malfeasance and similar issues than most other countries.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
hotsauceman1 wrote: With the olympics, arguments could be made that goes against the spirit of the olympics.
But in all reality, the Olympics is a clusterfeth when it comes to the host town specifically because the money involved.
That's a pretty simplistic argument. The Olympics are a huge expense, always, but whether that expense is outweighed by the benefits is a different matter entirely, which depends on the quality of management of the host nation, and whether there is a greater national purpose to hosting the games.
Beijing, for instance, showcased China as a major new player on the world stage - people's understanding of China completely changed over the course of two weeks. Their prestige, and therefore their ability to project influence, ramped up massively. Sydney was about showcasing Australia for tourism, and it paid off massively - the next ten years returned more in increased tourism each year than the cost of hosting.
On the other side you get Greece, which was poorly managed with massive cost over-runs, and had no coherent national goal outside.
Point is, the Olympics might be a disastrous money pit, or it might be a huge national boost. There's no simple story here.
That's a pretty simplistic argument. The Olympics are a huge expense, always, but whether that expense is outweighed by the benefits is a different matter entirely, which depends on the quality of management of the host nation, and whether there is a greater national purpose to hosting the games.
Another side to that, when looking at events such as the FIFA World Cup, or the Rugby World Cup, the countries that host those events don't have to shell out near the money (though they undoubtedly don't see the return on investment over the long haul like Australia did with the Sydney Olympics) because each venue is largely the "same"... it's a soccer field, or a rugby pitch, or heck, a baseball field if we're talking the World Baseball Classic that's been picking up steam.
I think that the more a country has to do in order to get "games ready", the more they have to turn over in order for it to maintain a profit over the long term. IMO, Brazil should be looking OK on that front because while they are building stuff for the Olympics, they already fronted a bunch of that money for the Soccer WC (IIRC, the main stadium for the World Cup finals is the "Olympic stadium" that will be used next year to host the Olympics)
You can throw Australia on that list too. They have the correct infrastructure for it.
I mean, with Australia that's 4 of the 6 inhabited continents.... I'm sorry, I just don't think any South American or African country can reasonably host and not have major problems. We've seen it with both South Africa and Brazil.
I thought that most of the issues involving Brazil had to do with the corruption and the big issues with Budweiser. I mean, they had a law changed so they could serve alcohol in the stadiums. Brazil had that law there because people died.
Ensis Ferrae wrote: Another side to that, when looking at events such as the FIFA World Cup, or the Rugby World Cup, the countries that host those events don't have to shell out near the money (though they undoubtedly don't see the return on investment over the long haul like Australia did with the Sydney Olympics) because each venue is largely the "same"... it's a soccer field, or a rugby pitch, or heck, a baseball field if we're talking the World Baseball Classic that's been picking up steam.
I think that the more a country has to do in order to get "games ready", the more they have to turn over in order for it to maintain a profit over the long term. IMO, Brazil should be looking OK on that front because while they are building stuff for the Olympics, they already fronted a bunch of that money for the Soccer WC (IIRC, the main stadium for the World Cup finals is the "Olympic stadium" that will be used next year to host the Olympics)
Yeah, because of the need for more specialist stadiums the Olympics carries a bigger price tag, and much of what you build will produce little economic value down the line. If anyone ever got any kind of proper return on their kayak circuit I'd be amazed.
But the other side of that is that the Olympics is still the biggest sporting event, and that means the biggest upside. Though I wouldn't be surprised if the World Cup wasn't too far behind these days, despite the corruption it seems to be really growing, while the Olympics seems kind of stagnant (though I've never seen any numbers of viewing or total revenue).
And yeah, the price tag for any of these events dependent largely on how much infrastructure needs to be improved. But then that's probably the spend with the greatest chance of being useful down the line.
Incidentally the cricket world cup is a billion dollar venture these days. And that's quite incredible, when you consider that no-one in cricket really cares about the world cup anymore.
Dont forget the social price tag either. Corporate sponsers are big for olympics. But if a small business wants to advertise, they often cant. Like england, pubs couldnt have events that refrenced that games AT ALL.
You can throw Australia on that list too. They have the correct infrastructure for it.
I mean, with Australia that's 4 of the 6 inhabited continents.... I'm sorry, I just don't think any South American or African country can reasonably host and not have major problems. We've seen it with both South Africa and Brazil.
I can see/understand the argument for moving tournaments around -- time zones and that whole chance to see things in person.
But I agree that holding it in countries without suitable infrastructure and/or climate is daft.
Personally I think there's ah argument to be made that the Olympics should always be held in Greece.
Make things a lot easier for people and one would also suggest might go someway towards helping things even out a bit there too.
the more of FIFA that ends up in court the better (and I don't really even like football)
that said the fact that the USA does not really care too much about (world) football is also a big help in the prosecutions as they have no vested interest in keeping they system alive,
(unlike for instance if they found they had to do something that might risk the American Football or Baseball governing bodies collapsing)
so sweep the corruption away (so we can have new corruption, there's too much cash sloshing around to keep it clean for long)
(unlike for instance if they found they had to do something that might risk the American Football or Baseball governing bodies collapsing)
Maybe we can get the Brits to go after the NFL and MLB?
I think they're mostly on the level, they're more into instutionalized corruption like blackmailing taxpayers into building them new stadiums and such, but you never know.
the more of FIFA that ends up in court the better (and I don't really even like football)
that said the fact that the USA does not really care too much about (world) football is also a big help in the prosecutions as they have no vested interest in keeping they system alive,
(unlike for instance if they found they had to do something that might risk the American Football or Baseball governing bodies collapsing)
so sweep the corruption away (so we can have new corruption, there's too much cash sloshing around to keep it clean for long)
First Ve Control Your Officialz! Zen Ve Control Your Sportz ZEN VE CONTROL YOUR PEOPLZ!!!
In the chart below, I've compared those fatality numbers for Qatar with worker fatality estimates for other major international sporting events in recent years. Some of these numbers (like Sochi's) are third-party estimates, others (like Beijing's) are based on official numbers that are almost certainly an undercount. And it's tough to do an apples-to-apples comparison here, since the Qatar estimates include the deaths of all migrant workers after the announcement of Qatar's successful bid in 2010, while other countries' figures may only include deaths directly related to, say, stadium construction.
If current trends continue, the ITUC estimates that 4,000 workers will die in Qatar by the time the World Cup is actually held in 2022.
Kilkrazy wrote: The Quataris arrested a BBC team who were in the country to cover the buildup for the World Cup.
After they went off the guide path though. Still, it's quite obvious the entire Qatar idea was terrible from the start, wouldn't be surprised if teams would refuse to play there at all.
Kilkrazy wrote: You don't arrest teams of reporters from major news organisations for going off the guide path unless you are some kind of police state.
The right thing for fans to do if the Qatar world cup goes ahead is to boycott it. Do not travel to it. Do not buy products from it's sponsors. Do not watch it on television.
We can all preach about corruption and how wrong it is, but how many of us are willing to take the simple and easily achievable step of just not watching the damn thing?
Da Boss wrote: The right thing for fans to do if the Qatar world cup goes ahead is to boycott it. Do not travel to it. Do not buy products from it's sponsors. Do not watch it on television.
We can all preach about corruption and how wrong it is, but how many of us are willing to take the simple and easily achievable step of just not watching the damn thing?
I'm also going to lead the way!
(My soapbox is hollow however because...well...I never watch the World Cup, because football is probably the most boring sport in the world. What's that? Another nil all draw?!?)
Jesus. Thats.......bad.
so, I'm calling it now, fifa is the lizard men empire sought on making us wuss is by having us all love soccer and therefore not real sports
Kilkrazy wrote: The Quataris arrested a BBC team who were in the country to cover the buildup for the World Cup.
After they went off the guide path though. Still, it's quite obvious the entire Qatar idea was terrible from the start, wouldn't be surprised if teams would refuse to play there at all.
They'll play, there's much too much money and glory at stake.
Boycotts only work if people are public about it and let the sponsors (not FIFA) know about it.
So write coke, McDonalds, visa, Budwieser etc know.
It'll be interesting to see how the vote goes down today. With the US publicly announcing it's intention not to vote for Blatter (which was probably already obvious when they nominated Ali), it'll be interesting to see how many votes they can swing their way.
cincydooley wrote: It'll be interesting to see how the vote goes down today. With the US publicly announcing it's intention not to vote for Blatter (which was probably already obvious when they nominated Ali), it'll be interesting to see how many votes they can swing their way.
I caught on CTV national news last night that the Canadian delegate is also not voting for Blubber... I guess there's some significance there since the Women's World Cup kicks off here in a couple more weeks?
FIFA can probably cope with the loss the top European teams from a boycott.
UEFA member teams are largely irrelevant when considering the power of the $. UEFA know a boycott is meaningless.
Blatter has known for years, and is why he keeps in power despite repeated acts of cronyism and fraud perpetrated by FIFA, that the smaller confederates are where he has most support and where football is growing as a whole. FIFA main sponsors also know this.
Should Blatter loose the vote the organisation would still be the same as it has been for many a year and to keep this status quo the federation can still look to the 150+ members who have been the targets of FIFA previous 'charm' offensives.
For those interested, Blatter got 133 out of 209 votes in the first round of voting, he needed 140 to win on the first round. Second round of voting is simple majority so... yeah, he's gonna stay.
You've got footballing giants like Germany, Brazil and others have the same amount of votes as smaller nations.
With Blatter bringing World Cups to Asia and Africa (and in turn, getting their support), the numbers start to add up quickly when you consider the amount of members/votes it means.
EDIT: Aaaand just like that, the President is re-elected. Almost as comical as when he ran against himself last time xD
I'm sure I read that UEFA is financially a bigger organisation than FIFA? It now needs Michael Platini to follow through with his threats, and the rest of the UEFA countries to grow some balls and back him up.
Even despite these corruption allegations there has been so much discord about the Qatari world cup, that's even without the human rights issues going on (which are frankly appalling) - just having the tournament during regular season time for Europe is going to put the WC against the financial juggernauts of the European leagues and interfere with their scheduling. This was already turning into a train crash before any of these current issues came along.
Frozocrone wrote: While I admire my country for leading the boycott, they are, sadly, irrelevant in football having poor performances for years.
If any country was going to lead the boycott, it would have to be Germany.
You say that, but (and this is purely anecdotal) I have a few European friends, scattered from different parts of the EU, who all think of 'England' as being a kind of traditional homeland of football. A friend from Israel and the US who say the same thing too.
Special attention is always given to the team internationally, and an England game is always a big game, despite the team not really having a realistic shot at the cup since 1990. If England didn't play at the World Cup it would have a massive impact, you have to remember as well that the UK Premiership is the biggest league in the world.
And boycotting does have an impact. We would see sponsors start to withdraw, less money coming in and in the case of 2022 especially players be tentative about taking up the call from the national team for the first time; they could cite their thoughts on human rights for a start, but more likely there will be massive internal pressure from their league teams to not miss league play. FIFA is playing a very, very dangerous game and in taking money for allowing Qatar to host the cup they could stand to lose out massively and undermine the entire concept of a World Cup.
Sigvatr wrote: The boycott isn't going to happen. Just have a look at how much money is at stake. Do you seriously think they'll even consider not taking it?
Agreed, they'll talk the talk though.
World football can do without European teams, European teams need world football.
World football can do without European teams, European teams need world football.
No, World football needs European teams. No major sponsor will pay if there are no European teams.
Sponsors are all over the European game. The reason why Sponsors are very moderate in their press releases regarding fraud and racketeering within FIFA is that FIFA have opened up major opportunities in previously untapped markets. THEY (The sponsors) need these markets to continie generating their profits for shareholders.
As football grows and grow in Africa, Asia, The Middle East etc the NEED for Germany, Italy, Spain and England to be in major competitions lessens.
Kilkrazy wrote: The Quataris arrested a BBC team who were in the country to cover the buildup for the World Cup.
After they went off the guide path though. Still, it's quite obvious the entire Qatar idea was terrible from the start, wouldn't be surprised if teams would refuse to play there at all.
They'll play, there's much too much money and glory at stake.
Boycotts only work if people are public about it and let the sponsors (not FIFA) know about it.
So write coke, McDonalds, visa, Budwieser etc know.
I wonder how many of those sponsors are going to have some fashion of tug at your heart strings ads that feature a dog and horse, little kid being inspired, etc.
I think a great ad to run would be a couple teams playing in a graveyard where the stones bear the names of those laborers who died so this atrocity could go forward.
Sigvatr wrote: The boycott isn't going to happen. Just have a look at how much money is at stake. Do you seriously think they'll even consider not taking it?
Agreed, they'll talk the talk though.
World football can do without European teams, European teams need world football.
If Europe and South America pulled out of FIFA the organisation would be finished.
Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote: I thought I'd bump up this thread, as Sepp Blatter has announced he will RESIGN!
Maybe the FBI got to him, after all?
So... he's running to the nearest non-extradition country?
Destination Cuba!! Hello Castro!!
UPDATE: Blatter to resign, but will remain for a while. Maybe's he's doing a Putin. Step down as president, become Prime Minister, then become President when the heat's off?
Looks like some shenanigans going on here. There's an election and his rival pulls out prior to the second round to let Blatter take the win. A few days later he resigns anyway. What changed, his he expecting charges?
Foil hat on. Blatter didn't want to be beaten in election so some deal was made to allow him to win his fifth term for certain on the basis he would almost immediately resign with his head high, doing the right thing, etc, and back a swift successor. Everyone comes out looking the best they can.
Howard A Treesong wrote: Looks like some shenanigans going on here. There's an election and his rival pulls out prior to the second round to let Blatter take the win. A few days later he resigns anyway. What changed, his he expecting charges?
Foil hat on. Blatter didn't want to be beaten in election so some deal was made to allow him to win his fifth term for certain on the basis he would almost immediately resign with his head high, doing the right thing, etc, and back a swift successor. Everyone comes out looking the best they can.
More likely the guy stepped down to let Blatter win, then the arrests of officials blindsided everyone. Once it became obvious that the charges are serious, Blatter decided to step down and run (my two cents )
Howard A Treesong wrote: Looks like some shenanigans going on here. There's an election and his rival pulls out prior to the second round to let Blatter take the win. A few days later he resigns anyway. What changed, his he expecting charges?
Foil hat on. Blatter didn't want to be beaten in election so some deal was made to allow him to win his fifth term for certain on the basis he would almost immediately resign with his head high, doing the right thing, etc, and back a swift successor. Everyone comes out looking the best they can.
More likely the guy stepped down to let Blatter win, then the arrests of officials blindsided everyone. Once it became obvious that the charges are serious, Blatter decided to step down and run (my two cents )
That's my read...
So... Blatter is setting down to run the slave camps at Qatar now?
Blatter's opponent never stood a chance of getting elected. He did the prudent thing of not wasting everybody's time going for a second vote. There must be something big coming out soon - Blatter's bricking it.
Should Qatar and Russia lose their world cups, who's going to take over? Qatar is more likely to lose theirs and there is plenty of time for another country to prepare. Russia on the other hand ... less likely, but should it happen you're going to need a country with the infrastructure ready to go. The UK or a similar European country would be the strongest bet.
