The following two videos are from the BBC's panorama series. Investigative journalist Andrew Jennings (transparencyinsport.org) follows up on his years' long investigations into FIFA corruption just ahead of the vote for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The process is opaque, business interests and corruption grease each other up in dark, smoky rooms in the Swiss Alps, and the macho / misogynist heirarchy of FIFA continues to claim "Fair Play" while making record profits due to abusive (and illegal) tax exemptions, the creation of a homogenized consumer culture, and the elimination of democratic processes in order to, as a British MP says in the video, "get on one's knees" for FIFA. Next up we'll see how Soccerex contributes to the current model of mega-event development that in turn creates "states of emergency" in cities and countries that allow for the suspension of urban and social normalcy. The technologies and tactics imposed during these altered states become permanent apparatuses of state control and create structural adustments in the very fabric of society.
Notable in the BBC videos are the continued claims of Ricardo Teixeira's involvement in FIFA corruption scandals. Surprised?
For those in a betting frame of mind, Russia is currently at 9/2 odds to host 2018. I'd take that bet.
thanks to www.theshinguardian.com for the initial link to the video, which Andrew Jennings had told be about back in August when he visited Rio. At that time he was waiting to see if the promised documents from the informant had arrived. They did, and the BBC bankrolled the production.
ReplyDelete