Until nations actually stand up and say "We're not actually going to attend the WC until FIFA is reformed", then the media can do whatever they like, embarassment is one thing, but the only thing Blatter and co will really respond to is financial losses.
Sport used to help in the battle against despotic regiemes...take south Africa (some cricketers excepted) now sport rewards them. China, Russia, Quatar...
Let's be honest, Putin will still be pulling the strings in Russia in 2018, and England will still send a team along, and when the 2030 (or whenever) bidding process is opened, I bet we'll submit a bid.
With FIFA you have two choices; you stand up to them and say no more (and risk never getting a WC again) or else you play the game, and it seemed we went for some kind of wishy washy middle ground.
I liked what Michael Portillo said last night, in that the only thing wrong with the Panorama program was that it wasn't aired a lot sooner, and I think he's right. Airing it just a handful of days before the vote could have no positive impact at all and could only put FIFA backs up.
We have to look at our own bidding process in this as well. For all the fact that our bid was perfect, by all accounts the bidding team were lax in getting out their and pressing the flesh as it were until quite recently; whereas with the Olympics we'd put a lot more effort into our networking and it paid off.
Sport used to help in the battle against despotic regiemes...take south Africa (some cricketers excepted) now sport rewards them. China, Russia, Quatar...
Let's be honest, Putin will still be pulling the strings in Russia in 2018, and England will still send a team along, and when the 2030 (or whenever) bidding process is opened, I bet we'll submit a bid.
With FIFA you have two choices; you stand up to them and say no more (and risk never getting a WC again) or else you play the game, and it seemed we went for some kind of wishy washy middle ground.
I liked what Michael Portillo said last night, in that the only thing wrong with the Panorama program was that it wasn't aired a lot sooner, and I think he's right. Airing it just a handful of days before the vote could have no positive impact at all and could only put FIFA backs up.
We have to look at our own bidding process in this as well. For all the fact that our bid was perfect, by all accounts the bidding team were lax in getting out their and pressing the flesh as it were until quite recently; whereas with the Olympics we'd put a lot more effort into our networking and it paid off.
are you fucking kidding me. Govern our game or not, NOT one of the major football leagues in Europe will go for it and the clubs will give FIFA one giant collective FUCK YOU gesture.
.
