Qatar 2022
How did this small, Middle Eastern autocracy, with no international soccer pedigree or modern stadium infrastructure, land the ultimate international sporting competition: the 2022 FIFA World Cup? Mon...
1 Sep 202244min
Equal Footing
Today’s episode is all about hope. The stunning success of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team offered FIFA a roadmap to a better way of doing business, one that promised soaring profits while embra...
25 Aug 202255min
White Elephants
FIFA’s appalling behavior in Chile and Argentina is ancient history…right? You’d think world soccer’s governing body would have learned its lessons and modernized by 2014, but you’d be wrong. In the s...
18 Aug 202237min
The World Cup of Shame, Part 2
After spending millions of dollars they didn’t have to build World Cup infrastructure, and disappearing anyone opposed to their lavish plans, Argentina’s military junta turns its eyes on an even bigge...
11 Aug 202238min
The World Cup of Shame, Part 1
In 1978, FIFA faced a simple choice: Play the World Cup in a nation ruled by a brutal military dictatorship, or move the tournament to a country that better represented the global values of fair play ...
4 Aug 202225min
The Era of Gold
The slow march toward corruption continues… When Brazilian businessman João Havelange took control of FIFA in 1974 it was still a modest operation, with six permanent staff and virtually nothing in th...
21 Juli 202239min
The Colonialist
An organization like FIFA does not become corrupt overnight. So how did it happen? Well, long before FIFA became stuff of criminal lore, soccer’s governing body was simply known to be racist and moral...
14 Juli 202234min
