Match fixing, lack of infrastrucutre: Is World Cup 2014 Brazil the next Sochi?

The World Cup is an electrifying event. It is, in the words of Jim Nantz, “a tradition unlike any other.” It has no peer on the international stage. Not even the Olympics can match its pure, oftentimes maniacal display of nationalism. Despite its popularity however, FIFA is doing everything in its power to mess it up. They are the worst, the absolute worst.

The organization is so bad, John Oliver compared their inner workings to viral video, two girls one cup – and no, that hyperlink is not to two girls one cup, it’s to John Oliver’s video. I’m not that cruel.

Leading up to the South Africa World Cup, at least five exhibition matches were fixed. After a match rigging syndicate based in Singapore had reportedly chosen a referee, he received his pay. The referee not-so-subtly deposited $100,000 in bribe money the day before the match he fixed. Did he think no one would notice?

Recently there was this incident during a friendly between Nigeria and Scotland. We’ll let you judge for yourself about the legitimacy of this own goal.

Is the World Cup susceptible to match fixing?

According to the New York Times, FIFA’s report on the South Africa fixing leaves a clear possibility that Brazil’s cup is vulnerable to the same dealings. The USA got dragged into it, as the Men’s National Team’s friendly match against Australia was said to be fixed. While the USMNT needs all the help they can get, this game was probably fixed in favor of Australia so that bettors could beat the point spread.

Generally speaking, friendlies are like when varsity scrimmages junior varsity before the season starts. The competition doesn’t mean anything and one team puts the hurt on another. And since there’s no evidence the actual World Cup games have been fixed, we’ll give FIFA a pass here.

Onto the 2014 World Cup. First, the Brazilian citizens don’t want this World Cup. Six in ten Brazilians said they wished the money would go into basic infrastructure. So if you’re headed to Brazil, just remember that 60 percent of the people don’t want you there. The country is dumping an estimated $11 to $14 billion into the event. Money that could have gone into a plethora of other things—infrastructure and poverty just to name a few. It’s not like Brazil will see a return from the World Cup either. They’re burning money in the name of soccer.

Just like the Winter Olympics in Sochi, the lack of established infrastructure seems to be delaying the host city’s preparations for the event. The power grid isn’t ready. The subway system is shut down while the workers protest their pay. There are protests on the streets. Even the airports aren’t ready. I’m looking forward to hearing about planes circling runways for an extra hour while they let the tar harden just a little longer.

Where’s Stalin when Brazil needs him? He’d shut those pesky Brazilians up and make everything eerily pleasant.

But like Sochi, everyone will settle in. Soccer will start. #RioProblems will eventually stop trending.

What about World Cup 2022?

The future of the Cup, however, is in question. Just recently, Qatar became the host city of the 2022 event. When they selected Qatar, they surely considered all the necessary quandaries that might arise while throwing one of the largest events in the world. I don’t know… weather? As noted by Last Week Tonight, temperatures in Qatar could reach 120 degrees during the World Cup. That’ll look great for FIFA. Neymar will have a stroke in his final World Cup appearance.

Qatar’s World Cup hopes are dwindling. On Tuesday, NDTVSports.com reported that FIFA accepted up to $5 million dollars in bribes, which frankly is only surprising because the figure is so small. FIFA is sitting on a billion dollar “reserve.” Accepting a $5 million dollar bribe is like when Doctor Evil gets out of the time machine and asks the U.S. Government for a million dollars. Sepp Blatter probably had his pinky to his mouth. Either that, or the investigation has only scratched the surface of a massive well of bribery. I expect it to be the latter.

Don’t get me wrong. The 2014 World Cup will be fantastic. From a soccer perspective, there are 4-5 very good teams and a few outliers that could win it all. Hopefully it’s the soccer that gets the attention and not, you know, the other stuff.

Photo: Flip Bondy/NY Daily News

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