Fifa World Cup

I, for one, can’t wait for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, if indeed the Yanks don’t pinch it. Bring it on. Let the world sizzle and wilt in the desert sun. Let the FIFA fat cats keel over from heat stroke and the drunken northern European soccer hooligans with them.

Let sand storms arise from the desert and paralyse the whole damn thing, so that the entire world can see the full, spectacular ramifications of FIFA’s corrupt soul. “Crisis? What crisis?” FIFA boss Sepp Blatter incredulously asked at this week’s FIFA Congress. He won’t be asking that when the Qatar doomsday scenario becomes a reality.

US political scientist and soccer writer Andrei Markovits described FIFA this week as “a complete, literally perfect oligarchy”. Back home, Nick Xenophon likened Blatter to Monty Python’s Black Knight. Spot on, both of them. FIFA’s members could not be better geared for institutionalised corruption if they wore Chairman Mao hats. The thing is, it’s been that way forever. The only reason we now care in Australia is because we’re the ones that just got bitten.

Continue reading "We hate FIFA corruption because we’re sore losers" »

Hosting the World Cup is like a bad divorce and FIFA’s lawyers are better than yours. After the fun you’re left with the costs and a sour relationship.

Never mind the demands in the lead up, even during the event you realise that something is wrong. Construction activities have to stop for a month. The construction site has to be beautified. There is no compensation for the companies and the workers.

Worse still, you have to drink Budweiser. No more VB. Budweiser paid all those millions in sponsorship and FIFA requires that no Australian beers are drunk in areas associated with the event. There too, you are required to eat McDonald’s burgers. McDonald’s is also a sponsor and it is an offence to sell local in the same areas.

Continue reading "Hosting the Cup would’ve been like a bad divorce" »

I’ve dragged myself back to (real) work after spending a blissful three weeks in South Africa covering the Socceroos’ campaign. As any of you who read my tweets would know I clearly wasn’t over there for my soccer knowledge but I did get quite immersed in the machinations over the battle to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. This piece looks at the growing alarm in the Americas over the US bid to to host 2022 - along with Qatar, Australia’s toughest rival in the bid race. 

A controversial Arizona immigration law which lets authorities randomly stop and question people of Latin American appearance and check their citizenship documents is threatening to derail the United States’ bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

In another boost to Australia’s bid to host the tournament in 2022, the US is struggling to control a wave of disquiet throughout the Americas over the radical law, which has sparked protests by sporting groups and boycotts by performers within Arizona.

Continue reading "Anti-latino laws threaten to sink USA World Cup bid" »

Here’s a new ad from Nike, ahead of the FIFA World Cup, featuring football’s biggest stars. Oh, and Homer Simpson and Kobe Bryant and a few others. Enjoy.