Category Europe
Spies, Lies, and Double Agents: The World Cup Bids Get Crazier
Their own spying campaign against their rivals was matched by similar tactics by the Russia 2018 bid. The sources said they had received assistance from Britain’s official security services to set up surveillance countermeasures because they feared Russia was spying on them when they met with voters to ask them to back the England 2018 bid.
China Must Bid For The World Cup (oh, and the U.S., too), says challenger to Blatter
A future FIFA must boost the sport in ‘developing’ nations with huge populations previously ‘neglected’ by the world governing body. Specifically: India, China, Indonesia, and the United States…
Why Stripping Qatar of the 2022 World Cup Is A Very Complicated Concept
Qatar’s simple defence if allegations against Bin Hammam are proven true is that he was a “rogue agent” acting beyond his role. Qatar has already distanced itself from Bin Hammam and the former AFC President is no longer part of FIFA. So what jurisdiction handles a corruption enquiry against him as an individual?
French team hires Helena Costa, a woman, to coach and causes ‘earthquake’
“Because it’s football — something global and still rather conservative — and a provincial French team hires a female coach, it creates a media earthquake.”
What Will It Take For A Woman to Become FIFA President?
“Anyone who thinks the recent inclusion of three women on the FIFA Executive Committee – one voted, two co-opted for a year – is a sign of gender inclusiveness at the top levels of football, probably also thinks pigs fly,”
Over 113 years of GLOBAL player transfers on a map and video
The increase in the number of transfers, Dollar/Euro values, and the sheer weight of the north-south migratory patterns reveal just how much the “World Game” has become the, erm, world game.
Israel, Europe, Palestine, and the Political Football
So, UEFA’s Under-21 championship kicked off on June 5 to decide which nation has the best “youth” players in Europe. This year, there’s a catch. The tournament is hosted by Israel which, of course, is not in Europe. Israel is bordered by Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria making it about as Middle East as you […]
A Short Film About the Greatest World Cup Game of All-Time (possibly)
Michel Platini apparently said after the game he thought Battiston was dead. When told after the game that Battiston had lost three teeth, Schumacher said: “If that’s all that’s wrong with him, I’ll buy him the crowns.”
Why Match-Fixing Is Just Like A Lap Dance
“It is very easy to get a professional athlete to come ‘on side’,” said the son of a former hitman. “We would spend a lot of time trying to get these guys to do this. We would deliberately target them. Heck, a lot of the time they would come to us.”
FIFA Works “Just Like A Little Mafia”.
Let’s assume he did not mean to say that FIFA operates in such a way that it is involved in “organized crime”, as mafias in the broadest sense tend to be. Let us assume that Tognoni only meant to say that FIFA’s networks are run in similar ways to groups or gangs that practice organized crime. That FIFA looks after their own members in methods similar to the protective nature of organized criminals.
all about angles 