Exploring the seedy side of the football federation

The Ugly Game by Heidi Blake & Jonathan Calvert

The Independent

Football has never been so popular or so dominant. So much so that, in this election, David Cameron's slip-up about which team he supports – he confused West Ham with Aston Villa – raised questions about his suitability to lead the country. Yet the people who run the game have never been in such bad odour with the stench from Fifa, the game's world body, almost overpowering.


Allegations of shady dealings have long swirled round Fifa but what has made the present crisis the worst in Fifa's history, is that never before has bribe-giving been documented in such graphic detail. All this has emerged following the extraordinary decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.


This was done despite Fifa's own evaluation commission report that holding it in such a small country represented an "operational and logistical challenge" and the summer heat, that can reach 50C, is "a potential health risk". In the five years since the decision was taken, there has been endless speculation that the Qataris bought the World Cup. The Qataris vehemently deny this but allegations of vote-buying keep surfacing.