Why Canada should beware of FIFA deal
Declan Hill says corruption has marred the World Cup
So now we are supposed to celebrate.
On June 13 in a Congress Centre in Moscow, 200 executives (almost all men) of one of the most corrupt international institutions voted to award the United States, Mexico and Canada the hosting rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Cue the usual reactions of soccer fan celebrations and po-faced Canadian politicians issuing New Jerusalem on the Prairies-like statements. However, for the rest of us, it is worth taking a breath and examining very carefully what we as citizens and taxpayers have got ourselves into.
I write as a proud Canadian and a devoted soccer player. This is worth saying because the people who make money like bandits from a FIFA World Cup meet any criticism with attacks on one’s patriotism and love of sport.
WIDESPREAD CORRUPTION
It is very difficult to overstate the level of FIFA corruption.
In their seven-year investigation (Hollywood movie produced by Ben Affleck to come) the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice showed that soccer officials across North and Latin America corrupted virtually everything they touched: sponsorship deals, television rights, marketing, ticket sales and stadium deals.
The subsequent FIFA trial, in November 2017, was held under the RICO statues (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), the specific laws used in the United States to prosecute major organized crime groups. All the lawyers involved in the trial, defence and prosecution, agreed with the legal definition of FIFA as an organized crime syndicate.
The judge said in the midst of proceedings that the head of the Brazilian Football Association (CBF), indicted for criminal racketeering and money laundering, and, at that time, still a senior executive of FIFA, may “have friends in high places.”
The football associations of the Americas are not alone. There are many national football associations in the rest of the world that are as bad. Last week, the high-profile investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas ripped the lid off official corruption of the game in Africa.
ONE-SIDED CONTRACTS
The defenders of FIFA will say that the dozens of officials who have been convicted of highlevel fraud are now out of the organization.
However, the problem for Canadians is that our politicians will be dealing with the institution and culture that these officials shaped. More pertinently, our politicians will be signing one-sided contracts with the organization identified as an organized crime syndicate.
A few examples of some of the clauses in previous FIFA contracts:
There is a fleet of chauffeur-driven limos standing by 24 hours a day for FIFA officials. These cars drive on lanes of traffic across host cities that are exclusively reserved for them. Good luck to any of the regular citizens who are caught up in the traffic jams that this causes.
All environmental costs, all security risks, are assumed by the host country. FIFA accepts no responsibility.
The areas around stadiums are turned in what one U.S. critic termed “human-rights free zones.” Even the clothes that fans wear can be deemed inappropriate. For example, Dutch fans were arrested at the South Africa 2010 World Cup for wearing T-shirts that mentioned a non-official beer.
Nor does FIFA or its staff pay any taxes on profits or salaries associated with the World Cup.
Overall, World Cup contracts mean that FIFA does not take any risks — financial or otherwise — while the host country accepts all.
The last World Cup in 2014 was held in Brazil. It featured great games but massive amounts of scandals and controversies. Last month, a Brazilian human rights advocate said, “We had a four-week party but now we have a ten-year (financial) hangover.”
Canadians should be very careful that the same thing does not happen to us.
It is very difficult to overstate the level of FIFA corruption.