We Report, You Decide

Photo Courtesy Associated Press

Kicking Back Comments:
In almost every news story that I have read on this topic, I get confused. What exactly does an arrest for smuggling 6 kg of heroin in 2010 have anything to do with refereeing in 2002?

These articles, and some of their quotes seems to imply, and in some cases, just states, that this referee had a substance abuse problem that led to his on the pitch issues.

The following quote from the AP story below shows this willingness to blame the referee then, for what the man has done today:

Franco Carraro, an International Olympic Committee member and Italy's soccer federation president at the time of the South Korea game, said the arrest proves Moreno had problems.

Ladies and gentlemen, I urge great caution with these assertions. This one strikes a nerve with me as there have been folks in my career who have made erroneous assumptions about my past on pitch performance and incorrectly connected it to some present, off the pitch issue. Some of these comments smack of this rubbish.

While I don't discount that connections between on and off the field can and should be made, when it comes to something so serious, caution is advised. For me personally it was one of the larger data points in my choice to end my career when it did. I hope Mr. Moreno gets the fair shake he deserves as he traverses what would appear to be a difficult road ahead.

These comments are also momentarily ignoring the sheer lunacy of the physiology of blaming the referee after (8) years has past in what I would consider a pathetic search for vindication from Mr. Carraro. That alone makes me seriously question the competence level from this former coach and IOC member.

But as I state in the title ... we report, you decide.

Ref Moreno's arrest sparks anger in Trapattoni

ROME — Former Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni is hoping fans will look back on his reign in a different light after the arrest of former referee Byron Moreno in New York.

The Ecuadorean, blamed by Italian fans for the Azzurri's elimination from the 2002 World Cup, was caught on Monday at John F. Kennedy Airport with bags of heroin attached to his body, according to U.S. federal prosecutors. A judge jailed Moreno without bail on a drug smuggling charge. ...

Full story here, courtesy of the AP.

UEFA GETS IT RIGHT !!!!!

WOW IS THIS REFRESHING!

Thanks to a loyal reader (thanks Jeff) I was pointed today to the UEFA refereeing page to find a story and video explaining the new five referee experiment made for the fans.

My initial reaction is how well done this is. A professionally produced spot that will run in stadiums and broadcast prior to a Champions League match.

Take a look at the video and story here, and tell me that this video banging on the "jumbotron" at your local stadium is not cool. Finally, finally, finally, something to get your blood going about refereeing. The closing line with Collina (who heads the UEFA referee program) is just fantastic.

Now, whether or not the experiment will succeed is a whole other story, and time will tell.

For now I am happy to see such a positive and public advertisement of what is going on. No need to keep it under the covers for folks to try to figure out. Well done!

Also, not lost on me was the quality of the materials provided on the site, as compared to FIFA on the same topic. While not surprised, I am amazed at just how wide a rift exists in the quality of materials. More on that soon.

For now, check out the article and video here.

Just who led the FIFA delegation?

FIFA envoy is the only one benefiting from worldwide 'tour'

President of Chilean soccer federation is moving up fast in the sport's world governing body, but his travels to cities seeking to stage World Cups are nothing more than a dog and pony show.

Sometime on Monday, an aircraft will touch down in the United States and from it will emerge a shaggy-haired, 49-year-old former journalist from Chile by the unlikely name of Harold Mayne-Nicholls.

That's when the latest round of fawning will begin. ...

Complete story continues here, courtesy of latimes.com.

Spare the links, just give them the cuffs

So I have to admit that I do like suits and the accouterments that go along with them like braces (suspenders), pocket scarfs, and yes, cuff links. I was off looking for a soccer themed pair and ran across these guys pictured at the left. Really nice, and I may pick a pair up sometime. What I also found was another very interesting story from guardian.co.uk about, *gasp* more corruption where FIFA was involved.

The complete story is entitled, "Fifa investigates claims of Australian World Cup 2022 bid gifts." and goes into some details about the Australian bid committee showering FIFA delegates, and apparently their wives with gifts.

So let's face it, the World Cup is big business and there is a lot of money that changes hands. One figure of note: FIFA reportedly made approximately $3.2 Billion in ad revenue alone in the 2010 World Cup (source). So it is not a surprise that prospective host countries do everything they can to lure the Cup to their home soil. I write this without holding judgement on what actually happened as frankly, I don't know. This could be a simple gesture of good will. Heck, I have received gifts from teams after a match. It is a cultural thing, and should not be seen as anything other than a genuine token of appreciation. In fact in some situations, like in a locker room after a match, a referee shunning a small token of appreciation from a team is very bad form. So for me, no flies on Australia, yet, for offering small tokens of appreciation.

Now, pearl necklaces and handbags for the wives of FIFA officials may indeed breach that "small gift" criteria and may get the folks down under in some hot water. FIFA has launched another one of its famous investigations into the matter. I can't wait to see the letter they send Football Australia.

My laugh out loud moment was when I read the following from the article:

During a rocky period for the English bid last year, it faced criticism for giving the wives of each of the 24 Fifa executive committee members a Mulberry handbag.

The controversial Fifa vice-president Jack Warner returned his, claiming to have been "insulted" by the English bid team.

 Insulted Jack? Okayee ...


Take a few and check these out from guardian.co.uk, it paints part of the picture about just how hard folks work (above and below board) to get the Cup to their shores.


I hope the US delegation is working equally as hard.

Putting the "gold" back in the game?

FIFA may abolish extra time at World Cup

By Brian Homewood

BERNE (Reuters) - FIFA may abolish extra time at the World Cup with drawn knockout matches going straight to penalties, the federation's president Sepp Blatter said Thursday.

Blatter said in an interview with FIFA's web site (www.fifa.com) that too many teams had played defensively at the World Cup in South Africa and soccer's governing body would look at ways of encouraging more attacking tactics. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Reuters Canada

It just keeps getting better.

Kicking Back comments:

As many of us are aware, information is power, and selling information can be quite a money maker. While I am fairly certain that this act is from a rogue individual or small group of them, what came out for me was how deep the ties are within FIFA's political community. I suppose this should not surprise me at all at the end of the day, it is big business after all.

To me the most telling part of the article is here:

Match Hospitality, owned in part by a media company run by Philippe Blatter, nephew of the Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, won exclusive rights to sell ticket hospitality packages at the 2010 and 2014 tournaments three years ago. The firm was criticised for over-pricing packages for this summer's World Cup, resulting in empty seats at most matches in South Africa.

Fifa in spotlight over passport identity theft claims

• Newspaper claims fans' details were sold on to touts
• Investigation into 'rogue employee' of Match Hospitality

An investigation is under way into allegations that the passport details of thousands of football fans were sold on the black market by an official linked to Fifa.

The Information Commissioner's Office, which regulates the Data Protection Act, confirmed it has launched an inquiry into claims that the details of 35,689 English fans who attended the World Cup in Germany in 2006 may have been sold unlawfully for profit. Preliminary investigations by the authority suggest that the details of 7,200 England fans have been traded illegally. ...

Full article continues here, courtesy of guardian.co.uk.

FIFA World Cup 2010 Technical Report ... Meh ...

Judge for yourself.

KB's opinion ... for all the "issues" with referees, there was no significant mention of the referees, their "issues", or proposed solutions.

The complete report is here (.pdf), courtesy of FIFA.

Open and Shut Case

Kicking Back Comments:
While at times I get the sense that FIFA wants to be a bona fide governing body (i.e. a recognized government), and takes steps in that direction with some of their tremendous charity work and influence they exert on nations. However, it is vapid responses like this which demonstrate a willingness not to engage in what may be a far more serious issue which (for me) very clearly militate away from any such assertion of true governance.


FIFA Statement on Korea DPR
Following a request for information sent by FIFA to the Korea DPR Football Association on 11 August, FIFA can now confirm that it has received a letter from the Korea DPR Football Association as a reply to that request for information. ...

See the full statement here on the casual inquiry investigation, courtesy of FIFA.

Hector has plenty to say

Kicking Back Comments:
Earlier in July Kicking Back wrote about on of the most decorated FIFA referee/ARs, Hector Vergara.After his return to Canada he did what many of us do ... and that is to keep going at what he loves. Following is a nice interview with Mr. Vergara, sharing some of his thoughts about his last World Cup, its referees, their controversy, and life in general. A good read.

Back from World Cup, decorated official has plenty to say

What does the busiest official in World Cup history do when he returns home from a 44-day stay in South Africa? He puts on his cleats and gets back on the pitch, of course.

Héctor Vergara has officiated more World Cup games than anyone in history. At the recently completed 2010 edition of the world’s biggest sporting spectacle, he was patrolling the sidelines as an assistant referee for the Italy-Paraguay and Brazil-Portugal first-round matches, and the third-place match between Germany and Uruguay. ...

See the full article here, courtesy of the Winnipeg Free Press.

FIFA now investigates allegations of player punishments in N. Korea

FIFA president Sepp Blatter confirmed today that FIFA has launched an official inquiry into allegations that North Korea mistreated some of its players and officials following their poor performance at this year’s World Cup.

Blatter stated that FIFA has written to the North Korean football federation on Tuesday to request information about the allegations and details on the election of its new president. ...

Full story here, courtesy of playthegame.org.

That will be $10,000 please ... and here is your change of $29,990,000.

Kicking back comments: 

FIFA has to be kidding with this one. From the story below you will learn that both the Spain and Dutch federations were fined for their teams deplorable conduct during the World Cup final last month. For this however the Spanish were fined about $10,000 and the Dutch about $14,500. Not each player mind you, that's the whole nut for each team. In the case of Spain, this represents about .03% of their winnings going toward this fine. In the case of the Dutch, this is doubled at a whopping .06% of their winnings.

Now theoretically such a fine is for punitive reasons, right? This is what fines are for to punish the individuals involved to keep bad behavior from repeating itself. Is this FIFA's attempt to punish these federations for bad behavior during a World Cup Final? Lets say in the case of Spain, it was $10K for everyone on the team, including managers and staff. What's that 50 people? Okay, now we are talking about $500,000, which is still small potatoes relative to what is at stake.

Does FIFA really think players are deterred by this in a World Cup setting? While this may be real money for some organizations in many situations, I would opine, it is not here. FIFA's disciplinary code entails when at least (5) players are "sanctioned" in a match, a fine is levied. I would suggest to really make it count, charge a national federation $1M on "sanction" #6, and everyone thereafter. Now we're talking! Even better, give the fines to the FIFA referee program for the training of current and future referees!

For a punitive measure to work, it has to sting a bit. Fining a national association $10,000 in the face of their $30,000,000 winnings is meaningless and does nothing to deter future behavior of the type.

FIFA should do better ... for the good of the game.

Netherlands, Spain fined for final fouls

ZURICH -- The Netherlands and Spain have been fined by FIFA for their players' lack of discipline in a bad-tempered World Cup final.

FIFA said Tuesday the Dutch federation must pay $14,480 after eight different players received yellow cards, including defender John Heitinga, who was booked a second time and sent off.

English referee Howard Webb showed five yellow cards to Spain, earning its federation a $9,650 fine. ...

Full story continues here, courtesy of ESPN.com.

FIFA World Magazine

Not all that long ago I was had a significant layover in Germany on my way to India and I ran across the subject magazine in a Lufthansa lounge to pass the time between flights. It was a quick read, very flashy and well put together to help deliver FIFA's message.

Sure enough as I was roaming around the dark corners of FIFA site again I came across the online version of the magazine. Still a good read. Particularly the August 2010 version, which recaps the 2010 World Cup and contains a bunch of info that can be mined form a number of sources, but is all right there in a single source for anyone interested.

A very good delivery as well (the sound of the page turning is really cool). Click the thumbnail below for the August 2010 version, or here for an index. All courtesy of FIFA.

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

You know him, you love him. John "Hannibal" Smith leader of the A-Team (played by George Peppard).

For those that do not have a clue about the reference, here is a Wikipedia entry on the topic.

What Hannibal was famous for was always having a plan going  in to a situation. Granted, that plan may not get followed by the end of the episode, but at least there was a starting point.

This is diametrically opposed to Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford), another one of my fictional heroes (and who was just at Comic-Con, for those that follow that stuff) who is known for his "figuring stuff out on the fly" mentality.

So why do I bring this up at all?

Well, I was poking around the FIFA site and came across the background paper for the additional AR experiment I blogged about the other day. There were a couple of interesting points in it. For those interested, the document can be located here on the FIFA site.

First was the depth of the paper, which was really non-existent. I was surprised for such (at least in my head) a dramatic change that it was light on detail. Of the (3) page document there was about (1 1/2) pages of true background, a (1/2) page picture and about (1/2) page of substance.

The instructions were interesting too. In essence there are (2) more ARs opposite of the "real ARs", they carry no flags, yet have a radio to communicate, and are there, it would seem, mostly for fouls. Frankly it is not clear but is strongly implied with the position directions given in the memo.

Interesting however that ARs will be used in these cases (this is explicit in the memo) and not referees. This is odd to me as you are asking the folks dedicated to calling offsides now calling probably the most tactical fouls on the pitch ... in the attacking 1/3 and behind the referee.

Don't get me wrong, ARs are more than capable, especially the ones I have had the pleasure to work with. I am just curious about the choice.

Another thing that struck me was the on field presence of these folks. There was no talk of "off the field help". I am not surprised, but would be if it remained that way after the IFAB meeting in October.

I applaud FIFA for experimenting as it is clear they need to in order to continue to elevate the game. That said I am a traditionalist and the "3 man system" is very effective when done correctly, and with the augmentation of technology or even a booth official of sorts, may make it that much better. While not traditional per se, it will do more good than harm in my opinion.

My only hope is that FIFA thought this one through and is approaching this in more of a "Hannibal" method than an "Indy" one. Both will get results, no doubt, but if a controlled experiment is what they are after, to make a decision about the future of refereeing as we know it, the details in the background paper were a little thin to give me confidence that this will be the case. I will be interested in the days ahead to watch some of these matches and see how effective this strain of the "4 man" system is.

From World Cup To High Court

Kicking Back comments:
Below is a follow up regarding of the T&T players suing the T&T FF over an agreement from the 2006 World Cup. One thing interesting outside the story to me, are some of the comments in both stories from the readers. If true they will serve as fertile ground for further discussion on topic.

From World Cup To High Court

It was the morning of October 5, 2006 when the "Soca Warriors" finally received word on bonuses promised to them by Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) special adviser and FIFA vice-president Jack Warner--now the Minister of Works and Transport in the People's Partnership Government--for their historic qualification for the Germany World Cup.

At the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, the jaws of more than a dozen young men sagged and faces contorted as a contingent returned from the TTFF headquarters with news of their financial reward.

"How they came up with that?" asked one player.

Full story continues here, courtesy of Trinidad Express Newspapers.

T&T Players Win Suit Over T&T FF - Warner Must Be Fuming

Kicking Back comments:
Special thanks to Melissa Lawrence for tweeting this one.

Jack Warner (FIFA VP and CONCACAF President) certainly can not be happy by the ruling recently handed down, upholding an agreement between several T&T World Cup players and the T&T Football Federation. Note the time frame here, these players have been fighting to enforce the agreement they entered into prior to the 2006 World Cup.

High Court backs payments for Soca Warriors: ...TTFF ordered to honour 2006 W/Cup agreement

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) was accused of time-wasting and ordered by Acting Justice Devindra Rampersad to honour its agreement to pay bonuses to the 2006 World Cup football team, dubbed the "Soca Warriors", and legal costs, which are expected to be in excess of $3 million.

On November 19, 2008, the TTFF filed a stay of proceedings in the High Court that prevented the 16 players—since reduced to 14—from enforcing the judgment of the London-based Sport Dispute Resolution Panel (SDRP), on the grounds a supposed breach of confidentiality by the claimants "severely undermined" the defendants' faith in the SDRP and, as a result, "they no longer agree to be bound by the agreement".

See the full story here by Lasana Liburd, courtesy of Trinidad Express Newspapers.

FIFA and Their Petri Dishes

IFAB approves additional assistant referee experiment

The Technical Sub-Committee of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) approved several requests from member associations and confederations to implement the experiment with two additional assistant referees during the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 seasons at a meeting held today, Wednesday, 21 July 2010 in Cardiff, Wales. The full list of approved requests can be found below.

At a previous Special Meeting of the IFAB held in Zurich on 18 May 2010, the Board had reviewed the experiment with two additional assistant referees that was carried out in the 2009/2010 UEFA Europa League, and had decided to continue the experiment until the 126th IFAB Annual General Meeting in 2012, but not to limit it to a single confederation. Therefore, confederations and member associations wishing to conduct this experiment were invited to inform IFAB of their interest for a decision to be taken at the meeting of the Technical Sub-Committee in Wales.

Full story continues here, courtesy of FIFA.com.

Interview with Angelo Bratsis on Germany-Serbia officiating

The following article was published by examiner.com on 21-JUN-2010, and authored by LE Eisenmenger.

Kicking Back comments: Following is an interview of Angelo Bratsis (see brief bio here) from 21-JUN-2010 discussing the Germany v. Serbia match and in particular the ejection of Klose. In reading, again think locally, as there are some very fertile points here for matches on any given Sunday. Article from examiner.com continues below.

Ex-FIFA referee looks at Germany-Serbia officiating and Klose's ejection

Questionable officiating in high-profile 2010 World Cup matches such as Germany-Serbia and USA-Slovenia tarnish FIFA’s tournament. Germany (Group D) lost 1-0 to Serbia after referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco ejected Miroslav Klaus early with a second harsh caution. Undiano called the game tightly from the whistle, issued nine cautions overall and his heavy hand affected the quality of the highly anticipated match. After an outstanding performance in their 4-0 win over Australia, now Klose must serve a suspension and Germany’s future in World Cup is compromised.

For insight into the officiating of the Germany-Serbia match, I spoke with Angelo Bratsis, ex-FIFA referee for the United States and CONCACAF for 12 years.

LE: What did you see in referee Alberto Undiano’s officiating of Germany-Serbia?

Bratsis: I try not to be overly critical of referees, but I do have a lot of questions in my mind when I look at the game. Where does the referee work, what league? What level? How many years has he been around? Well, he’s been on the FIFA list since 2004, so he’s very, very experienced. He’s 36 years of age, a sociologist by trade. He has worked in many, many qualifiers, he works in the Spanish league, one of the best leagues in the world - this is where he works week in and week out. For years he’s been exposed to the highest possible level of players from all over the world. He’s not a rookie, he’s been exposed to high-pressure games, and should have been better prepared having the opportunity not many referees have to work in a league like the Spanish league.

I’m questioning his approach to the game, his total tactical and technical approach to the game. Any referee – I don’t care what referee – any referee that needs nine yellow cards to control a game, I have a very serious problem with that. I question his foul selection, foul discrimination. I question whether he can differentiate between an acceptable foul at that level that players don’t mind, accept, a foul that is careless - and a foul that is reckless. If he can’t distinguish between careless and reckless, he’s got a serious problem. A careless offense is just a simple foul, just a simple free kick and some of the calls he made are just simple, simple, simple fouls. When he turns a simple foul into a reckless, borderline excessive foul and feels that he needs to have a disciplinary action attached to that, I question that.

LE: Do you think he was consistent in his calls?

Bratsis: He was not consistent, he was very tight and relied on cards to control the game. Anybody who does that I question his management skills, his ability in that particular game, understanding who’s playing and what they’re playing for and what’s at stake and the degree and severity of each offense committed on the field. In the first half [Undiano] was very, very quick on the draw, so to speak. In the second half he started taking his time and thinking about whether he should take additional action against certain offenses, so I think he was a little bit more tuned in to the game than he was in the first half.

Usually at halftime referees talk about what’s going on out there, maybe get some advice from his ARs and the fourth official and adjusts his approach to the game. What do you guys see? What am I doing right, what am I doing wrong? And they make necessary adjustments. So if you monitor the second half you have Undiano approaching the game a little differently.

Full article by LE Eisenmenger continues here, courtesy of examiner.com.

Anyone catch the error in FIFA's post?

A few days ago, I posted a "By the Numbers" article from FIFA here.

Eagle eye JAFO picked up a pretty glaring error in the posting by FIFA. Not a little thing like an incorrect spelling of a word or two, but a serious error that I have since reached out to FIFA about (lets see what they will do).

Can anyone find it?

Comment below and lets see what we have ...

World Cup Alphabet Soup

Well it has been a week since the final, and to be honest I feel a little, empty. Here is an A - Z look at World Cup 2010 to hopefully fill some of that void.

A Look Back At World Cup 2010: From A to Z

And like that…. It’s gone. Thirty days. Sixty-four matches that yielded 145 goals. Thirty-two nations. One Champion.

Another World Cup has come and gone, leaving hundreds of heart-stopping memorable moments in its wake. For the casual fan, you’ll have to wait four more agonizing years to get your fix again. For more ardent soccer fans, have no fear: The EPL starts up next month as Chelsea looks to defend its title. And with the natural shakeup and transfer activity, who’s the favorite to win the UEFA Champions League?

OK, enough about that. Let’s take a look back at the moments that will forever be etched in our memories from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. From A to Z.

Full story continues here, courtesy of the San Diego News Network.

World Cup afterthoughts

The party is over and the World Cup has left South Africa, and generally the reviews have been very good. FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, praised South Africa’s efforts in hosting this year’s World Cup by giving them nine out of 10.


Praise for World Cup hosts
Before leaving Johannesburg, Blatter gave “Big compliments to South Africa and to the people of this country. Also, big compliments to the South African government for meeting all the guarantees they made for the successful organisation of the World Cup” writes the Daily Dispatch.

South African officials are also very pleased with the tournament. At a news conference, President Zuma stated that “"We are sure that the investment we have made will contribute to increased tourism, trade and investment. This will ultimately create new opportunities and bring in the revenue for us to address social challenges."

The South African transport minister, Sibusiso Ndebele, praised transport operators for their efforts in ensuring smooth transportation for all during the World Cup, and stated that an improved public transportation system will be one of the key legacies of the tournament, writes the Mail & Guardian.

Before the start of the tournament, the media spent a lot of time writing about the South African crime rate and the dangers football fans and journalists would encounter by going there. However, heavy investment in security meant that South Africa managed to host an almost problem free World Cup.

A poll conducted among 400 South Africans even shows that 85% of South Africans now have more hope for a positive future for all South Africans than they did before the tournament, writes Sport24. 

Actually, the tournament ran so smoothly that it has actually caused problems for President Zuma, raising expectations that his government can meet a series of unfulfilled promises in the same bold fashion, writes IoL.

The media seems to agree with Sepp Blatter that South Africa did a great job in hosting the World Cup

Critical voices asks questions
But, of course the critical voices who were there before the World Cup are still posing difficult questions now. The cost of the preparations soared while new stadia were built instead of renovating existing ones, and people ask whether this kind of spending on one event is economically responsible in a country where so many people live in poverty.

Questions about South Africa’s actual economic gain have resounded again and again since before the start of the tournament, and the brand value and the legacy left by tournament will take years to measure, argues Dr Udesh Pillay in the New York Times.

But the one who arouses the main part of the critical voices is FIFA. They have been declared the big winners of the World Cup, claiming $ 3.3 billion in television rights and marketing revenue, and have throughout the tournament been criticized for their strict marketing policies, for keeping local traders far away from the steady earnings they would get around the stadia, for not paying taxes in South Africa and for basically taking over the country.

Comments from the media
Business Day’s Paul Hoffman argues in the article "Beneath the glow of Fifa’s untaxed empire" that “Gratitude for cracking the nod from FIFA to host it should not blind the South African public to the less attractive features of the World Cup — those for which FIFA is responsible.”

Also Marina Hyde from the Guardian looks critically at the power FIFA exerts over its host countries. “We already knew FIFA could trump a medium-sized government. What South Africa underlined was the fact that FIFA can trump constitutional rights, cementing the organisation's status as a sort of travelling oligarchy, enjoying all the benefits of power with none of the disadvantages, like having to provide healthcare or be remotely accountable”, she writes in her article "Sepp Blatter's slick patter sticks in South Africa's craw".

South African cartoonist Zapiro has throughout the tournament produced comical sketches giving a critical comment  the World Cup. With his cartoon, "The Holy FIFA Empire", he shows Sepp Blatter controlling the whole world while calling the roman emperors, the rulers of the British empire and Genghis Kahn amateurs.

On Indyweek.com, Chris Gaffney comments, in the article "Brazil 2014: Looking back, looking forward, going nowhere here", on FIFA’s way of managing events like these, looking ahead at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. “South Africans really were wonderful hosts, spending public money freely so that the Swiss-based monolith could rake in a record profit. It won’t take long for FIFA to count their US$3.3 billion in revenues (for the month); it will take South Africa many decades to pay off the party” he writes.

And unless something changes radically, the same future lies ahead for Brazil he argues. “The World Cup and Olympics need to be massively reconfigured, re-scaled and re-thought, or they will continue to destroy environments, economies, communities and lives around the globe.”

Story credit to Playthegame.org.