Soccer teaches young players the value of fairness, hard work and abiding by the rules, principles ignored by some officials who hold the reins of international competition.
But the corruption that permeates the upper echelons of international soccer shouldn’t be allowed to stain “the beautiful game” for the many thousands of British Columbians involved in the sport.
Swiss police, aided by U.S. authorities, raided a posh Zurich hotel this week where top FIFA officials were staying in preparation for the organization’s annual congress; seven people were arrested.
Several others were arrested in the U.S., where a total of 14 have been indicted on 47 counts arising from a range of allegations including bribery, wire fraud, racketeering and money-laundering.
The suspects were involved in “a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves through the corruption of international soccer,” says a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
It’s a shocking turn of events, but only because it has taken so long. Many soccer fans and commentators say corruption has long been part of FIFA. They point to the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, a small, oil-rich Arab state with a harsh climate completely unsuited for playing soccer. The only plausible explanation for the choice is bribery.
The fallout from that decision is grim — Qatar depends on migrant workers for virtually all its labour, including building facilities for the World Cup. Migrant workers die at an alarming rate in Qatar; the Guardian newspaper estimates that nearly 1,000 workers from Nepal, India and Bangladesh died there in 2012 and 2013 as work on soccer facilities and associated infrastructure ramped up.
So why should it matter? FIFA is an autonomous body, answerable only to itself. And soccer is just a game, right?
It’s not just a game, it’s the world’s most popular sport. No other sport attracts as many participants and spectators. The final match between Germany and Argentina in the 2014 World Cup attracted an audience of more than a billion.
FIFA estimated in 2006 that nearly 2.7 million Canadians played soccer, formally and informally; the number has undoubtedly risen substantially since then.
The first soccer game in Victoria was played in 1865. Today, B.C. Soccer is the province’s largest sports organization. Jason Elligot, the association’s acting executive director, estimates that the province has 100,000 youth players, 20,000 adult players, 12,500 youth-team coaches and 2,500 adult-team coaches, plus thousands of other volunteers.
While local soccer is not directly connected to FIFA, the world body wields considerable influence that filters through to all levels.
The scandal “has profoundly harmed a multitude of victims, from the youth leagues and developing countries that should benefit from the revenue generated by the commercial rights these organizations hold, to the fans at home and throughout the world whose support for the game makes those rights valuable,” said U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch.
Nevertheless, soccer will continue to offer opportunities for enjoyment and growth to young players. The month-long FIFA Women’s World Cup begins in Vancouver on June 6. Twenty-two female soccer athletes from the Lower Island Soccer Association, age six to 10, will be escorts for the players in the final match on July 5. It will be a shining moment for them, and it will not be diminished by the corruption that has so tarnished FIFA.
Arrogant and greedy soccer executives should be treated as the scoundrels they are; FIFA’s corporate sponsors should take a stand against corruption — they are financing much of it, however inadvertently.
But players of all levels will continue to play “the beautiful game,” and so they should.
