I’d like to think everyone would agree with this, but why is there so much corruption in sports, especially in world football? Sports are intended to bring joy to the lives of billions worldwide - it is frustrating that those in power can take advantage of the system for financial gain. We’ve had numerous members of FIFA get indicted for bribes (included a FIFA president that was forced to step down), match-fixing, racism (and FIFA’s pitiful attempts to fight racism), and much more. Americans can relate to this frustration - college sports are governed by a greedy institution, treating it as a profitable business instead of its intention of monitoring a fair and level playing field, while professional sports have faced corruption over time. This begs a few questions:
Why is Corruption such a Big Problem?
Money - plain and simple. Qatar is hosting the 2022 World Cup because they bribed FIFA officials under the table. Working conditions are poor with dozens of deaths already occurring to construction workers on the stadiums being prepared for the next cup, yet there are no plans to move the tournament. Money talks, and FIFA listens.
History has also made corruption easier to get away with. We are living in a woke period of time, but in the past, we haven’t had the technology to hold those in power accountable for their actions. As a result, it was much easier to hide bribes or corrupt behavior in the past than it is now. Do this long enough and entire generations will believe this is okay.
Will Corruption in Football ever be Fixed?
In a world that is becoming increasingly more digital, I think there is long-term hope to end (or at least minimize) corruption in sports. It is getting harder and harder to hide corruption, and that was on full display earlier in the decade when various members of FIFA were forced to step down or impeached from their positions of power.
While it may not be the same as corruption, racism is clearly still a central issue to worldwide football and that’s been on full display in the past month alone. Bulgarian fans made monkey chants or booed each time a black England player touched the ball, while just days later a team in England walked off the field due to a player receiving racist abuse. This is a topic well-covered by the LADS and football pundits globally, yet it remains a problem. Racism is not a problem caused by FIFA, but a corrupt governing body like FIFA is not doing enough to eradicate the issue.
What Can we do to Stop Corruption?
You may not like these answers, but a global boycott is going to be the only solution to this. The World Cup averages BILLIONS of viewers every four years, and somehow, everyone is going to have to be onboard not to watch any of the games. Imagine a non-televised World Cup with empty stadiums.
Players could also opt to boycott the tournament. The window of an elite player is small - the sacrifice of wasting your only chance to compete on the world’s biggest stage must be a daunting feeling. However, without the players, there is no product on the field. The players hold more power than anyone else when it comes to fighting corruption. However, this is much easier said than done. It’s going to take ALL the players to combat this, not just a select group.
It is unfortunate that I am even writing about this - in a perfect world, FIFA does its job and simply governs every soccer league and game played around the world. However, as we see in way too many areas of our lives, people in power take advantage of everyday people that just want simple things. Corruption is a massive problem in football - but in due time we will watch soccer in harmony.
Author: Living in Southern California, Robert Sweeney has been a fan of soccer since he played as a young child. Since then, he’s become a diehard Tottenham and US National Team fan. Rob enjoys writing about the impact soccer has had on his life in hopes that it betters others as well. Twitter: @robsweeney11