Anyone hoping, and there were definitely people hoping, that this would be the World Cup where the corruption would finally be too much, the controversies would finally be too much, and something would be done about it, will be horribly disappointed.
Already, it sounds like UEFA is ignoring calls to deal with FIFA president Gianni Infantino after US President Donald Trump involved himself in getting the red card overturned. And already, more than 200 of FIFA's member associations have formally backed Infantino for re-election.
I think those two things should tell you more than anything else that nothing is going to come from any of the politics or any of the controversies.
Instead, what's going to happen is that Infantino will celebrate yet another successful tournament. The football was great. It wasn't diluted by the extra teams, which is what people were worried about. It wasn't predictable. You had surprise successes like Cape Verde.
Nearly seven million fans passed through the gates.
That is, by the way, enormous.
That's double the previous record, which was set in the US 32 years ago. Ninety-nine-point-seven percent of tickets were sold. They think the final will be the most-watched football match on record.
Now, sure, in years to come we're going to remember that Trump got a red card overturned, just as we're going to remember the rainbow armband drama in Qatar. But, we're also going to remember that the Argies got really heated up and had a fight after the final, that Lionel Messi got a hat-trick and that Eli Just scored a double for the All Whites, who actually turned out to be not half bad and gave us some hope that maybe quality football is finally improving in this country.
In the end, the controversies are just part of the story but they didn't stop people going to the games or watching the games, which is so predictable because this is what happens every single time.
Heather du Plessis-Allan is a journalist and radio broadcaster who hosts Newstalk ZB's weekday Drive-Time Show – where this article was sourced.
1 comment:
I'm sure for a large percent of the world they love their "beautiful game".
But many don't really share that same love for FIFA who operate more like a crime syndicate than a sporting body.
Strangely their totalitarian, dictatorial and oppressive "corporate" methods usually practiced by tyrants and maniacs doesn't go down well with those who enjoy a free market.
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