How many people, seriously, were surprised at the revelations concerning FIFA on Thursday 28 May, 2015? (The scandal involved a mere $150,000,000 dollars and that has just got to be the tip of the iceberg). Nobody, Jay H. Ell would imagine, that is, who didn’t know for years that Sepp Blatter ran the most corrupt organization on the planet. Books have been written about it all - the cronyism, the bribes, the control of the sponsorship, the sports gear and just everything connected with the most watched event on the planet. The jamboree swells up the coffers of FIFA and the personnel that run it. The insane desire of countries to host the world cup that has even resulted in legislation being changed to accommodate Sepp and his backers... It is really quite amazing how Blatter has managed to grab and hang onto control of the game that is the most popular in the world. But Jay H. Ell felt that, notwithstanding his re election, that all this had to be the end of him and or FIFA. So his resignation, delayed for at least 9 months, came as no surprise.
BLATTER’S EMPIRE
The extent of this man’s power and omnipotence is reflected in the fact that he was courted by leaders of countries. As he sat in the Directors’ Box, at the four yearly World Cup jamborees, in-between world dignitaries who were craving for his favor so as to meet their goal for ultimate acceptance - to be the hosts of a World Cup. Sadly the victor invariably had negative consequences. Take, for example, the decision for the "honor" to be directed in South Africa’s direction in 2010. The official rationale was that it was the turn of an African country. It now is alleged that there was a $10,000,000 bribe that sealed the official rationale.
For the moment it would appear that Seth is isolated from this all - he, it is alleged, is dealing with the big money sponsors and TV rights. The 1000 pound gorilla in the room is that his second in command is allegedly involved in that $10,000,000 bribery scandal.
SETH’S AFRICAN LARGESSE
Now to stay on the South African theme, Mandela who was accredited with persuading the World Body failed at his first attempt to bring the shindig to South Africa in 2006. He, and everyone else, believed in the giddy days of the new South Africa that an appearance by the acclaimed Nobel laureate at the FIFA meeting would ensure South African success - because to quote blathering Blatter the World Cup had never been held in Africa before. While Mandela was worldly in everything else he did not understand how brutally corrupt FIFA was and his original appeal went nowhere. The cynical Blatter and FIFA maintained that FIFA’s ultimate decision to award the cup to South Africa in 2010 was influenced by the South African icon. He omitted to add that the voting fodder had been greased by $10,000,000 handed out by the South African organizing committee with a little help from its friend FIFA. Apparently this was the first time Africa was able to produce that kind of money.
SOUTH AFRICAN RESPONSE TO REVELATIONS
All hell is breaking loose in South Africa at these revelations because the decision, as it was in soccer insane Brazil at the 2014 World Cup allocation, was not greeted with universal excitement. The unworldly masses were wondering why all this money was being spent at the expense of basic societal needs. Blatter, as was his won’t, added astronomically to the tab. For example, the megalomaniac sat at a restaurant in Cape Town, on the Waterfront, with the incredibly beautiful Table Mountain in view. In what passes for a mind he envisaged a stadium with that as a backdrop. In spite of protestations from the then Mayor of Cape Town that Cape Town already had adequate stadium facilities and that they didn’t need a white elephant that would host a few games, the Green Point stadium become yet another costly monument to Blatter’s hubris. Blatter triumphed as he always does as the fawning lackies acquiessed - because wherever he walks he leaves rivers of money. In Brazil a soccer stadium was erected in a mountainous area that was not accessible by conventional means. All the building materials had to be airlifted. The stadium hosted 4 matches and is never to be used again.
John Oliver in his program “Last Week Tonight” revealed what there were ground rules were for hosting the Brazil World Cup. For starters the Brazilian authorities had to waive the $250 million tax bill. Laws on liquor consumption, that had been shown to result in deaths at an open event were revoked so as to meet Sepp’s liquor sponsor's needs. This was yet another example of the wheeler dealing that accompanies this greatest show on earth.
WOES OVER 2018 AND 2022 WORLD CUP VENUE SELECTIONS
The latest world cup venues have elicited even more criticism. Qatar with little soccer infrastructure to match its non existent soccer talent, (remember what is chucked in with hosting the world cup is a guaranteed place for the local team), has oodles of what it apparently really takes - money. In 2022 the bash is headed for this minuscule State with an appalling human rights record. Needless to say the usual reports of bribery accompanied this bizarre decision which would be like hosting the SuperBowl in Luxembourg or the World Cricket Cup in Boise, Idaho. Noel Coward wrote that “Only Mad Dogs and Englishman Go Out in the Midday
Sun” and that is why soccer hasn’t taken a hold in Qatar. The summer temperatures are about 113 degrees Fahrenheit and unless the game is changed to five minutes a half and or giant fans are constructed all over the show there are going to be soccer casualties.
This would just be funny if it wasn’t for the fact that The Guardian reported that a foreign worker has died every second day in 2013 and 2014 since work started on the project. That is 694 deaths which exceeds by multiples the totals the worker death rate in the creation of the World Games infrastructure in Sochi which hither too held the record. According to Rolling Stone the International Trade Union Confederation labels Qatar a slave state. In addition to the deaths there are the primitive working conditions, wages and passports withheld. Some of this reached the media when the Nepalese migrant workers were denied leave to go home after the earthquake.
The 2018 games were awarded to mother Russia who at least are a recognized soccer playing nation. Jay H. Ell will not insult the reader’s intelligence by reporting that allegations of bribery were also made and the Swiss authorities are now investigating. However the USA’s indictments have lead Vladimir to accuse the USA of doing this in order “to take away our games”. In the bad old days it used to be alleged that certain paranoid Westerners used to check under their beds at night to see if there was a Commie there. The boot is now on the other foot as Putin checks under his four poster for the presence of Obama before turning off the light.
WHY SEPP WAS REELECTED
Sepp had block support from Asia and Africa giving him nearly a 100 of the just over 200 countries represented. He only got about thirty other votes, also from mainly the smaller countries in Latin America and the Caribbean Islands. Those voting for him maintained that he had done so much for Asian and African football and it is alleged a helluva lot more for their officials.
At the recent Zurich meeting the African Countries were each awarded a million dollars to develop the game. There is close on six billion dollars involved in World Cup sponsorship so the gravy train is deep and long. The bureaucracy of FIFA consists of cats living of the fat of FIFA with the best of everything. Blatter’s salary is $10,000,000 per annum but then he has very limited expenses so he must be able to get by. The costs of running FIFA according to The Guardian are equivalent to the support of the game in member states. Even delegates to FIFA meetings are treated right royally. They receive first class travel, bloated daily honorariums for attending conferences and meetings and presumably for voting for down the line.
Very little of the World Cup revenues generated by the event remain in the host country. In South Africa, for example, even all the gear was made in China and sold under the primatur of FIFA. The concession stands, the Coca Cola. the Bud Light, the McDonald burgers, the Visa card and all royalties all go straight to Sepp’s Swiss account.
UNEASY LAY THE HEAD THAT WORE THE CROWN
So in the teeth of jailed Vice Presidents and a total of fourteen of his Executive indicted, ongoing Swiss investigations into bribery for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and the authorities hinting that Sepp has not been cleared, he eeked out his fourth Presidency. However there were very powerful forces arraigned against him. The head of the European Football Association, (EUFA), France’s former star Platini, had called for his resignation and had threatened to withdraw EUFA from the world body. That would have been the kiss of death because VISA and the like are really not into the commercial rights for a Kenya/Jamaica tussle or a Maldives/ Zimbabwe battle. No lesser figures than the Prime Minister of the UK, David Cameron and Germany’s Chancellor Merkel echoed the cry for his ouster.
Sepp thus won a pyrrhic victory because the story had just begun. Inevitably more will come out. Up till now his serial questionable fiscal and ethical behavior had gone legally unchallenged because who really had jurisdiction over a world body and who really cared? The USA only got involved because some arrogant FIFA official living in the Trump Tower in Manhattan, with a separate apartment for his cats, did not pay his taxes. There was a hint that that the USA, who had lost out to Qatar for the 2022 games, had started the legal proceedings for revenge but that really is a stretch. So Sepp's collapse was inevitable, while his belief of omnipotence grew and grew until it all unravelled due to arrogance. Loyalty to the FIFA head can only continue when you are in a position to collect the checks and he is in a position to dole them out. Likewise the newly re elected President has dumped those arrested under the bus and called for a clean up of the Organization he has spent forty years fouling up. “This corruption has to go”, he cried. A very good place to start was with his good self and even he finally got the message.
