If you follow soccer, you know about FIFA, the scandal-laden organization in charge of the World Cup. Over the years, FIFA officials have been found to take bribes, and former president Sepp Blatter
stepped down in 2015 to show FIFA has turned over a new leaf. But is the once corrupt organization really clean now?
The selection of World Cup host countries is one of the main causes of suspicion toward FIFA. According to the organization, the voting criteria for consists of factors like infrastructure, transport, passion of fans, and presentation.
In almost every category, Russia falls short to other candidates. Note that this infographic was made in the UK, so the charts may be a little biased, but Russia is indeed lacking in infrastructure and has faced scandals for doping athletes. Based on the criteria FIFA claims use to select the host country, other countries may have been a better fit. However, nations like England only got 2 out of 22 votes. When you consider that Qatar is hosting the 2022 World Cup and has been accused of treating World Cup workers like slaves, things seem even dicier.
Based on this information, it may be possible that FIFA uses different criteria than they claim they do. Perhaps they haven’t changed their ways, and there’s still bribes and money involved in the selection process, or perhaps they just aren’t letting us in on their secrets.
Unfortunately, the United States didn’t qualify for the World Cup, but luckily, there are plenty of U.S. sports to watch. Take a look at which sports your state watches the most here.