The 2022/2023 season will go down as a landmark year in world football. The first World Cup held in the European winter. The attempt to create a European Super League quashed by UEFA and, seemingly, Gary Neville on Twitter. FIFA levelling unprecedentedly wide-ranging accusations of financial shenanigans at Manchester City. And much of the world, in the wake of US Department of Justice’s investigations, throwing similar accusations at FIFA of widespread corruption spanning decades.
The good news for the humble football fan is that there is a plethora of new content aiming to unpick the – at best commercialisation – at worst corruption – at the top of the Beautiful Game. My first recommendation for a depressing but comprehensive overview of the rot at FIFA is the four-part miniseries FIFA Uncovered, released on Netflix just before the World Cup. As cynical as I am, even I was shocked at how long-lived and profound the corruption was, starting with the presidency of Joao Havelange, the proto-Sepp Blatter. Between them, they ran FIFA from 1974 to 2015. Blatter’s reign came to an end when the Department of Justice arrested 14 of the most senior FIFA officials levelling charges typically associated with organised crime.
It is well told, well made, and features a lot of interviews with people you’d think would have PR advisors warning them not to on screen. So, while you get the feeling that Chuck Blazer was always a self-aware parasite on the take, Sepp Blatter comes across as utterly without shame. In his own head canon, he’s the hero of the story, disbursing funds to poor countries and funding grassroots sport in Africa and South America. You find yourself wondering if he genuinely believes he’s the hero of his own story, or whether he’s still trying to spin his way clear of legal trouble. After all, neither Blatter nor Platini have actually been held legally responsible for the endemic corruption in the organisations they ran.
