The BBC asked in one of their
recent programs - "America does not even like football, or so many
people think. Why is it leading the charge against alleged Fifa
corruption?"
Good question.
At
dawn, Swiss police rounded up seven Fifa officials at the behest of US
authorities who have conducted a massive investigation into corruption
at football's governing body.
So how did a country where football is more niche than entrenched come to police the world's beautiful game?
"Too
many countries are cowed by Fifa," said Alexandra Wrage, a former Fifa
anti-bribery adviser who resigned in protest from the organization.
"As
with international bribery more generally, the US Department of Justice
has said they'll step up to investigate corruption if others won't,"
she said.
It is not clear what specific event - if any - prompted the US
investigation. Some have pointed to the United States' failed bid in
late 2010 to host the the 2022 World Cup, and suspicions that bribes
were paid to encourage votes for Qatar.
Note EU-Digest:The
US involvement in Fifa is questionable and looks much more like
politics gone on steroids. Everyone is aware bribery in sports has been
going on for years now, not only in the FIFA globally, but also in just
about every sector of US sports. Another possible point of this US
contention could be that Russia will be hosting the next World Cup in
2018! The country submitted its candidacy in
early 2009 and was selected by the FIFA Executive Committee in Zurich on
December 2, 2010, beating out England and joint bids from
Portugal/Spain and Belgium/Netherlands.
Who
knows, the US might be wanting to turn this decision for Russia to host
the 2018 world cup around by proving bribery charges favored the
selection of Russia and in that way indirectly also punish Russia for
the Ukraine crises.
Another aspect, and
maybe the most important one, is that the commercial benefits of hosting
a World cup and all the perks that come with it involves major
corporate involvement and profits.
This
complicates matters even more, since corporate money these days, more
often than not, usually controls political action.
EU-Digest