FIFA dirty secrets

[peter w]

Just like anywhere else. Moscow is a big city, and the locals are miserable feckers. Nice girls though. Damned nice.

[Chris Harte]

In the cold light of day, I'm convinced that England are a fall-back plan for FIFA if it all goes wrong.

In the event that Brazil, Russia or Qatar (the latter two both assessed as high-risk by FIFA themselves) fail to deliver then England could host a World Cup at short notice.

With Wembley, The Emirates in London; Villa Park, City Ground (good enough to host at Euro 96) and Pride Park (staged an England international while Wembley was being rebuilt) in the Midlands, Hillsborough, Elland Road, City of Manchester, Old Trafford and Anfield across the north, and Stadium of Light and St James Park further north that's a dozen venues ready immediately that could host a tournament of this nature.

The only thing I could see being a problem is maybe a shortage of hotel rooms, but that's what supporter camp sites are for. I believe there was one at Great Barr for Euro 96.

[damon loves JT]

Mr Cameron wowed them

[peter w]

How? He cut the edges of the cucumber sandwiches that he served?

[taylorsworkrate]

I think it would be pretty pathetic if David Cameron got the blame for the failed bid.

Thought he came across well meself.

[damon loves JT]

He really really impressed them.

[Holtenderinthesky]

I think it would be pretty pathetic if David Cameron got the blame for the failed bid.

Thought he came across well meself.

Totally.  Anyone blaming him is an idiot.  This fix was sown up months ago.

[E I Adio]

Excellent summary from Simon Jenkins in the Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/02/world-cup-british-journalism-wikileaks

[Darth Villa]

Rumour has it England's World Cup bid was damaged at the last minute when Gazza turned up in Zurich with a KFC and a fishing rod.

[Brend'Watkins]

He's not devoid of blame though is he?  England didn't win it, we were led to believe that we would get 4 or 5 votes in the first round which is the reason everyone thought we had a chance.  So how come after all the "great presentation" we land just two votes?  And how come after spending 3 years and £50 odd million quid in the process the English team did not twig it was a stitch up from the start?

Even if it is a stitch up the whole England team including Wills Beckham and Cameron should take some flak for being so gullible.

[Yeltzer]

Australia got one vote and like England went out in the first round, i feel sorry for those that have invested three years of their lives in the attempt to bring what is now a tarnished competition to their homeland. I really don't give a rats about it i'm over the England team and the year on year crap they serve up, i'm sick of overbloated egoes and paypackets of prem players and their agents. If it wasn't for my inbred love of Aston Villa i could quite happily totally ignore the sport, it has become a corrupt beheamoth that swallows everything that's good. It is totally self serving and is there to make sure those in power stay in power.
Fck the England team, Fck FIFA, UP THE vILLA.

this

[Brend'Watkins]

Excellent summary from Simon Jenkins in the Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/02/world-cup-british-journalism-wikileaks

I like this comment....

cameron, beckham & windsor are now the diplomatic equivalent of the sugababes.
available at a moments notice to perform for any old despots as long as the price is right & they have a hair & make up budget.

[UK Redsox]

Excellent summary from Simon Jenkins in the Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/02/world-cup-british-journalism-wikileaks

Agreed. That's a great summing up

[alanclare]

I am amazed that there are people out there who still believe that the allocation of this miserable competition is anything other than a totally corrupt proceeding. Just take as an example this Jack Warner character, the Fifa Vice-President, who looked David Beckham in the eye, shook David Cameron’s hand, and threw his arm around Prince William, saying “You’ve got my vote”, then went and voted for one of the others.

This is the bloke who was accused in the Panorama program of ordering tickets for this year’s World Cup Finals worth £54,000 with a view to selling them to touts.

In 2006 he was found guilty of breaching Fifa’s ethics code (there’s a laugh for a start) when his family travel business made £500,000 from selling black-market tickets for the 2006 finals.

When questioned by a BBC reporter he said “No foreigner, particularly a white foreigner, will come to my country and harass me.” In 2007 he said “Nobody in Europe likes England. For Europe likes England. For Europe, England is an irritant.”

The F.A. paid for sending an England team to play a friendly in Port of Spain (he is a special adviser to the Trinidad & Tobago FA) and dispatched David Beckham for dinner and a coaching clinic.

This week the English delegation sucked up to him. Tea with P.M.? No problem. Meet the future King of England? Easily arranged Mr Warner, and then he played them for fools.

[TimTheVillain]

Excellent summary from Simon Jenkins in the Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/02/world-cup-british-journalism-wikileaks

Agreed. That's a great summing up

Don't agree with the cynical line he's taken re. Beckham, Cameron and Co.

And, THIS needs to be explored with a fine tooth comb:

So thank goodness for disclosure. Thank goodness for journalism. I am sorry we did not get the World Cup but, had we done so, it would have been mired in claims of dishonesty. In losing, we had the honour of seeing British journalism doing something to clean up a disreputable sport. That is the cup I would prefer to win