A fascinating four part docuseries exploring the recently exposed financial corruption of football’s world governing body.
Following, in 2010, the announcement of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups being awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively, all hell broke loose. Politics regarding the choice of Russia was of major concern – but the controversy in the choice of the first ever Middle East host was off the charts. Politics and human rights certainly featured on the naysayers agenda. But a country of less than 3 million people and 160 x 90 kilometres in size with soaring June temperatures of 40+ degrees centigrade made, according to critics, no sense over the selection of the USA, the pre-vote favourite.
There were so many waves, with the US having unexpectedly lost, that the FBI launched their own investigation into potential ‘buying’ of votes. And what was uncovered shook the very foundations of the world’s most popular sport.
With so much at stake in terms of business, sponsorship, political manoeuvrings on a global scale, deals were worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And where there’s institutional money, there’s corruption. And FIFA Uncovered highlights, over the last four or five decades, brazen pocketing of millions of dollars and the exploitation of votes.
It’s all pretty bleak – particularly when director Daniel Gordon (The Australian Dream, Don’t Look Down) allows disgraced former president Sepp Blatter continually refuse to take any responsibility for the level of corruption under his 17 years of leadership.
Rating: 61%
An Opinion or Two 