The first reaction that comes to mind after hearing the term FIFA is football. 'FIFA Uncovered,' Netflix's latest limited documentary series, drops a series of bombshells, shedding light on the functioning of football's apex global body, or as The Guardian's David Conn referred to it in the documentary, the "UN of football."
From the controversy on the selection of Qatar for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 to presidential elections and rampant corruption, the documentary also presents the origins of FIFA. It reveals the events of the past and how the contemporary global football body evolved to what we see it as today.
Starting from the appointment of then-president João Havelange to Sepp Blatter's control of FIFA's top seat, the documentary presents the dark side of FIFA riddled with bribery and corruption. While the selection of Qatar raises various questions, the docu-series throws light on how an institution like FIFA made that happen.
The Controversy Around Qatar
When the bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup was taking place back in 2010, both Russia's and Qatar's bids had strong competition from England and the US. England had their eyes on the 2018 World Cup and the US was a candidate for the 2022 World Cup.
Qatar won the bid against all odds and faced contrasting reactions from executives of other football associations and the media. US Soccer Executive Kevin Payne felt that the Qataris "had bought this (bid for 2022 FIFA World Cup)".
Sepp Blater's former advisor Guido Tognoni felt that awarding the bid to Qatar would add to the miseries of FIFA, a body already under heavy scrutiny because ofbribery and corruption charges.
Tognoni added, saying that "when you blame Qatar for hosting the World Cup, you have to blame FIFA, because FIFA is the system and the system is FIFA". This was telling of how the corruption inside the "system" ensured Qatar bagged the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup.
Role of FIFA ExCo In Selecting A World Cup Host Nation
Qatar's bid found support through votes from the FIFA Executive Committee (also known as the FIFA ExCo). A total of 22 ExCo members voted in 2010 with Qatar winning the majority. This also included three votes from ExCo members coming from CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) including president Jack Warner from Trinidad and Tobago.
The Qataris were found to have lured ExCo members who also headed continental confederations like the CAF, AFC, UEFA, CONMEBOL and CONCACAF. These heads also manage the footballing bodies of their nations and Qatar allegedly paid them a lump sum, including cash transactions, for "developing football in their confederation/countries", as presented in the docu-series.
Qatar's secretary-general for the 2022 World Cup bid Hassan Al-Thawadi denied the allegations, just like former AFC president Mohammed bin Hammam. The former AFC president decided to challenge then-incumbent Sepp Blatter for FIFA's presidential role and was shown in the docu-series bribing members of the CONCACAF with $40,000 in brown envelopes "for development of football infrastructure".
Even before the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids, the documentary showed how the 2010 World Cup bid won by South Africa was part of an election promise and deal to continue keeping Sepp Blatter in charge of the FIFA president's chair.
FIFA And Its 'Stand' On Politics
The series highlighted how, ever since the 1978 FIFA World Cup held in Argentina, football's coveted tournament has provided the scope of countries to go for 'sports washing', where the sporting event acts as the promotional image, covering up the wrongdoings of the government.
The 1978 World Cup in Argentina took place during the tenure of military general Videla's rule in the South American country. The docu-series portrayed how FIFA claims to take a non-partisan, non-political stand while ignoring some of the grotesque human rights violations the host country's government has been practising.
For many Argentines, the '78 World Cup was more than a classic case of 'sports washing' as the tournament portrayed Argentina as a rich, economically progressive country, which was also claimed by then-FIFA president João Havelange.
Fast forward to 2010 when countries including Russia and Qatar also presented their bids for hosting the 2018 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup respectively. The documentary presented how FIFA ExCo members voted for a country where the average temperature in June-July forces the authorities to push the tournament towards winter.
Furthermore, the country has seen violations of human rights on numerous occasions, including the treatment of migrant workers who built everything in Qatar and made the 2022 World Cup a possibility in the Gulf country for the first time in its history.
The documentary juxtaposes Sepp Blatter's claim that the condition of workers would improve not just in Qatar but in the entire Arabic world with the visuals of the coffins of dead migrant workers arriving from Qatar at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. The family members of the deceased in question did not even know how they had died.
Sepp Blatter's Power Hunger & Rampant Corruption In FIFA
Guido Tognoni, the former advisor to Sepp Blatter said that "asking if FIFA can get ever away from corruption, you have to ask if the world ever can get away from corruption". The documentary showed how former president João Havelange brought capitalism to the football body and he was the one to hire Sepp Blatter in October 1974.
Blatter bought in sponsors such as Adidas, Philips, KLM, and Coca-Cola to name a few. With the sponsorships came various opportunities for FIFA to fund events like development programs and youth tournaments. Guardian journalist David Conn mentioned said on the series how Adidas owner Horst Dassler's company ISL (International Sport and Leisure) bribed Havelange for marketing rights.
Blatter saw this and seized his opportunity. He rose up to the ranks, first as becoming the secretary-general to eventually sidelining Havelange to become the new FIFA president in 1998. During his tenure as the FIFA president, Blatter made major claims and electoral promises.
To get the votes of African delegations, Blatter promised to bring the World Cup to Africa which saw him win their votes and eventually win the presidency, defeating UEFA and Sweden's Lennart Johansson. From here, Blatter continued
In 2004, South Africa was announced as the host of the 2010 World Cup, in front of the late South African president Nelson Mandela. But Jérôme Valcke, former FIFA General Secretary under Blatter's presidency mentioned how three ExCo members including former CONCACAF president Jack Warner were bribed $10 million to vote for South Africa and help them win the 2010 bid for hosting the World Cup.
This was followed by the infamous announcement of Russia and Qatar as hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup respectively, that majorly threw light on the rampant corruption among the executive committee members, who took the bribe and voted to make Russia's and Qatar's bid a possibility, leaving behind England's and US' bid to host the mega tournament.
The documentary also added multiple footages of Sepp Blatter claiming that "FIFA is not corrupt," despite the footballing body coming under scrutiny for all the bribery allegations and investigations by Swiss courts and the FBI, that saw them raiding the FIFA headquarters in Zurich and arrest top officials, including former France player and UEFA president Michel Platini.
In the words of Blatter, who has been a part of FIFA for more than 40 years, he is "responsible for the FIFA and all the members who were working into the FIFA" but cannot be morally responsible for the members of committees, who were coming from other countries and cultures.