FIFA: in search of new frontiers of evil

Politics and religion
1

I have a joke that I like to recycle on the frequent occasions that the NFL or NCAA does something heinous:

“The NFL is only saved from being the most evil athletic organization on the planet by the existence of the NCAA, since at least it’s (usually) not actively denying its players rights and revenue.”

“The NCAA is only saved from being the most evil athletic organization on the planet by the existence of the IOC, since at least it hasn’t directly chopped down any rainforests or propped up any dictators.”

“The IOC is only saved from being the most evil athletic organization on the planet by the existence of FIFA, since holy shit FIFA is evil in literally every way that an organization can be evil short of intentional, industrialized murder.”

Anyway, for a hot minute I was annoyed that Minneapolis has pulled out of the whole World Cup 2026 bid despite having a brand-new American football stadium and a major league soccer stadium opening in (IIRC) 2019. Then I read this (emphasis mine):

theBreaker has obtained a copy of FIFA’s requirements for governments bidding for 2026. The Swiss-based organization, still reeling from the FBI’s 2015 crackdown on FIFA’s massive bribery and kickbacks, requires host governments agree to grant it huge tax breaks for an entire decade and allow it to import and export unlimited amounts of foreign currency. FIFA also requires host taxpayers pick up the full bill for safety and security and assume liability should there be any security incident of any size…

For its workforce, FIFA wants a visa-free environment where work permits are issued “unconditionally and without any restriction or discrimination of any kind.”

“It is also requested to grant exemptions from labour law and other legislation for companies and personnel directly involved with the competition, provided that these exemptions do not undermine or compromise the government’s commitment to respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights.” [HAW HAW HAW! --ed.]

I’m sure Great Leader, Nurturing Mother, and Defender of the Faith Ivanka will throw whichever Sith Lord is in power (I checked out after Sepp Blatter’s eventual ouster) a grand party, with only the finest taco bowls. It will truly Be Best.

2

Wow. I’m not sure why any American city would accept being party to that?

3

FIFA is a joke and any city that would even debate hosting them should have special elections so the people can vote everyone out of office for it.

4

Just looking at the countries who are hosting, sadly this is not a surprise.

5

Yup FIFA is crooked.

6

Does left-wing wonderboy Justin Trudeau get tarred with the same brush since Canada is also hosting in 2026?

7

If Canada wins then for darn sure. The World Cup bidding process is based on bribes, you don’t win it without doing something shady. :)

8

Nah, Trudeau isn’t actively participating in a naked attempt to undermine our Republic for personal gain. He just gets a wag of the finger.

9

The combined bid from Mexico, Canada and the US won over Morocco earlier this week.

10

Then I suspect them of bribery! :) Seriously! Again because that’s how FIFA has worked for decades. Maybe they have changed after all the scandals? But I doubt it.