Still think the FIFA voting process for the 2022 World Cup was on the up and up?
by denz on Dec 4, 2010 7:05 PM MST
Email
PrintSo today I am not going to restate the facts that I brought up a couple days ago, where we looked at the facts of the "High Risk" Qatar bid and amazed that somehow the facts didn't seem to matter. We knew that Jack Warner was corrupt, but now comes news that the betrayal of the USA 2022 bid starts at the top of the US Soccer community. You can go back to 1994's World Cup to know the influence of Chuck Blazer on every aspect of the beautiful game in America, but would you believe that the root of the US's defeat was Chuck Blazer?
Imagine what it would take for a citizen of US to not back the bid of their own nation? Yet a couple of sources are suggest just that:
In the 2022 race there are suggestions that Warner has not delivered his three Concacaf votes to the US which would mean, incredibly, that the American ExCo member Blazer did not even vote for his own country.
and then there is this:
The stink that is growing daily from the corrupt world cup hosting vote took a very bizarre twist today as news begins to filter through that Chuck Blazer the American general secretary of CONCACAF did not vote for his own country but for Qatar.
Blazer who is very close friends with ticket tout Jack Warner voted along with Warner to give Qatar the right to host world cup 2022 and thus go against their very own team from their very own federation.
Now while they don't name any sources, it is funny that such rumors quickly were reacted to by Blazer himself:
"Let there be no doubt, I happily confirm that I voted for the USA in each of the four ballots taken," he said. "I consider it an insult that anyone could presume anything else after 30 years of dedicated service to our sport in America."
With the voting being by secret ballot there is no way to know what the truth might really be, but it is clear that as the World continues to wonder about the recent round of FIFA voting, that the pampered lifestyle that members like Blazer enjoy (check out his own blog to see what I am talking about). We have seen this type of thing before with the IOC, and while scandals have happened at all levels of soccer it is clear that the indication is that we have entered a whole new level recently.
Of course it was Blazer who recently said of Qatar:
It is clear that the behind the closed doors at FIFA that lots of deals were being made, the shame is that it appears both World Cups were awarded because of deals and not on the merits of the actual bids. How bad is the corruption, well even the Tehran Times is covering it, read the full article that I quoted above from the New Zealand Herald to get the scope of the deals and double dealing that goes on.
I don't know how Chuck Blazer voted, but if you have read my blog for long I have often wondered if many of the power brokers of soccer in the US are more interested in what they can get out of the game, than doing what is best for the game. Things like this are what fuels my cynical view of FIFA, US Soccer, and even MLS.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
3 comments
|
1 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
You don’t know how much I want soccer to succeed here in The States, and especially here in Utah. Seeing RSL grow, and fans fall in love with soccer is just an amazing sight to see. It saddens me that people could possibly choose to line their pockets over what is best for the game. Honestly if they were thinking long term instead of getting “quick cash” they should have chosen US. They really would have made some money, but I guess they would have had to wait. Which looks like its too hard to do.
I really do think that the WC in Qatar will be a low point for FIFA and the games.
qatar qarruption
These guys at Fair Shake of the Sauce Bottle have found proof to show who really won the world cup bid for 2022 – sham for sure.
It is all about the money in the US
If you think about soccer at every level in the US it is all about the money, at the youth levels it starts with premier teams (or teams with qualified coaches) and that is where the money grab begins and it continues all the way to how the US youth teams are selected, how the US residency program is run, and all the way up to US Soccer and the USMNT.
MLS isn’t exempt, and as a professional league it should be about the money since they are a business but in my opinion even at MLS it looks too often fishy how decisions are made and one only needs to look at the current obsession of “the Don” with putting a second team in New York and in particular trying to recreate the Cosmos (funny that they were one of the “killer nails” in the NASL coffin).
To me it is clear that there needs to be some new blood at US Soccer, and I have for the last couple years said that I believe that MLS needs to thank Don for what he has done and move on to a new leader who can take the league to the next level.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
