Football... Money or passion?
In the more ancient times of football, players like Diego Maradona, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Johan Cruyf, and Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé who is considered the greatest player in the history of football. These players have been considered icons not only for their unmatchable talent on the field but for their stories and inspiration on people with similar lives where things are not given to them. That being said nowadays soccer players still remain the most praised and talked about athletes in the world of sports. However, its for a different reason, players are playing football as a job rather than for passion. As a result, money has began to ruin the world of football, not only for poorer teams, but in the FIFA organization as well.
The debate over the corruption of the football world came to light soon after the 2014 FIFA World Cup.The scandal erupted in May, with a raid on a luxury hotel in Zurich and the arrest of seven Fifa executives. All of this was conducted at the behest of the US authorities and in December, 16 more officials were charged following the arrest of two Fifa vice presidents in at the same hotel in Zurich. Former Brazil football federation chief Ricardo Teixeira was among those accused of being "involved in criminal schemes involving well over $200m (£132m) in bribes and kickbacks". Then in May the US indicted 14 current and former Fifa officials and associates on charges of "rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted" corruption following a major inquiry by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Fifa is the body responsible for running world football. It has recently been dogged by accusations of corruption, particularly after awarding the 2022 World Cup to the tiny but rich and influential Gulf state of Qatar. This is important to know because it affects the nation’s full of fans who will be expecting their team to perform, however this league simply cannot be trusted due to bribes, and behind the scene deals, no one will know for sure which team really deserves what. Does winning the most praised tournament in the world have the same sensations when you’re able to cheat your way to the top.
The World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world, larger even than the Olympics. In 2010, 3.4 billion people watched the World Cup soccer championship, according to Forbes. The 2014 championship in Brazil was the most-watched televised event in many countries. In Germany, more than 34 million people watched the match between Germany and Argentina.World Cup matches account for nine of the 16 most-watched programs ever in Germany. In Portugal, World Cup matches are five of the top 16 TV programs ever. It generates billions of dollars in revenue from corporate sponsors, broadcasting rights and merchandising. Even the trophy itself has value of 10 million USD which doesn’t even include the fact that the trophy itself is made of 18k gold which has a value of 29k USD. Which generally means that whichever national team wins the tournament not only gets the pleasure of being praised by their nation, but another 10 million USD trophy which is ideally what the new corrupt managers aim for. These arrests and investigations cast doubt over the transparency and honesty for the process of World Cup tournaments, electing its president, and the administration of funds, including those earmarked for improving football facilities in some of Fifa's poorer members.
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