Helping or Hurting the Game?
This summer, soccer fans watched with outrage as the truth was finally revealed: there is a rampant culture of corruption within FIFA.
After hosting privileges for World Cups 2018 and 2022 were awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively, many suspected that there was high-level corruption within FIFA. After much criticism, FIFA decided to open an investigation, led by US attorney Michael Garcia, into the awarding of those World Cup locations. However, FIFA refused to release Garcia’s full report, prompting him to resign in protest.
Media attention surrounding corruption within FIFA increased this summer during the FIFA presidential elections. People were skeptical that continued leadership of the organization under Sepp Blatter would be able to produce any meaningful reform or oversight. However, Blatter’s reelection to the presidency seemed inevitable because of FIFA’s “one country one vote” policy. This has led current leadership to ignore the demands of the largest soccer playing countries like Germany, the United States, and France, and to instead cozy up to tiny countries like the Cayman Islands and Montserrat in order to get votes. A system of pork barrel politics has thus been created, with officials from smaller countries demanding project funding in return for their vote. With the World Cup producing profits of $2.6 billion last summer, there is plenty of room to both fund projects and give countries’ officials some extra money to ensure their vote.
Instead of condoning such corruption, the US and Swiss governments decided to intervene. The US government brought a legal case that has led to a 47-count indictment, charging 14 officials with racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. Many of these officials were extradited from Switzerland where they were meeting for the annual FIFA Congress.
Why did the US government intervene, and why was this all over worldwide news for several days? Soccer is popular among fans, and in turn, generates lots of money. The value of the game, however, cannot be accurately measured with economic statistics. The value of soccer lies in the power it has to unite people around the world.
Many of soccer’s greatest stars have committed to using the game to help people and break down barriers. There are countless stories of players like Didier Drogba of the Ivory Coast donating his earnings to build a hospital in his hometown and Cristiano Ronaldo offering to pay for a sick child’s expensive surgery. FIFA has instituted a “say no to racism” campaign since 2006, and has expanded the penalties for exhibiting racist behavior to include forcing teams to play in empty stadiums if fans start racist chants. Additionally, because soccer is a global sport, fans are exposed to the foreign cultures of players from other countries. For example, kids growing up in England can look up to an African player, who just happens to play for their favorite team. In these and many other ways, soccer helps to defeat racism.
Furthermore, the game of soccer itself is something of an international language, connecting people who otherwise would have nothing in common. I experienced this multiple times this summer. When I was in Israel, my friends and I saw a group of young French teenagers kicking around a ball. Soon my friends and I joined them, beginning an impromptu game with only the common language of love for the game connecting us. There are similar stories that happen across the globe on a daily basis. To put it simply, in a world of great divide, soccer is one of the rare things that can truly unite people of different beliefs, ethnicities, and values.
The only thing needed to play soccer is a ball, which helps to explain why the game is prevalent in all parts of the world and in all parts of society. In African communities there is a strong passion for soccer, but a lack of basic services such as electricity. Companies like Uncharted Play have sought to solve this problem by creating products such as “The Soccket,” a soccer ball that when rolled charges with energy that can be harnessed for later use by the community. This has enabled societies that otherwise would not have access to electricity to obtain it by simply doing something they already do—playing soccer.
The world was so outraged this summer at FIFA because people felt that the game that they love, a game that brings so much good into the world, was being run by people who had lost their way. Soccer’s leadership apparently did not share the belief in the power of the game to “do good” in the world. Soccer aficionados around the world felt betrayed, and rightly so. The organized sport of soccer is at a crossroads, with fans and players everywhere anxiously waiting to see what the future holds. Will FIFA attempt to right the ship and provide more transparency, or will corrupt, under the table bargaining remain the price of doing business?