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Sepp Blatter

The Education Fix

FIFA announces evidence of rampant massive match fixing and creates a new anti-corruption center...but with funding for “education,” not investigations or enforcement. (And forget about any mandate to investigate corruption inside FIFA.) “So the anti-corruption centre promises to be one of those well-constructed snooze-fest places where people go to hear their bosses give seminars full of corporate nonsense and then leave to get on with the lives.” (Declan Hill)

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‘Fick Fufa’: Was it Good for You, Sepp?

The ghastly strong-arming of a still grieving Nelson Mandela to attend the finale. The extra-constitutional courts and wildly disparate punishments for locals versus tourists. £2.5b in tax-free profit. Etc. “Fifa’s MO is to ensure the country’s statute book has been made comfortable for its arrival, take over almost entirely for the period of time needed to siphon out the money, before pulling up anchor and moving on to the next host organism. Naturally, we all wish Brazil the best of luck – but the time has surely come to ask who regulates the regulator. Perhaps it’s one for the UN, assuming Fifa isn’t about to take its first seat on the security council.” (Marina Hyde/The Guardian)

Read of the Day: New York Finally Joins Civilization

New York Finally Joins Civilization: Sepp Blatter shook his head in disbelief in 1993 when someone told him the inaccessible Meadowlands was considered part of the greater New York area. But with Red Bull Arena, a great new stadium is finally a train ride away from the Big Apple — and “soccer, the pulsing heart of world sport, is finally connected to the center of the universe. New York is finally perfect.” (George Vecsey/The New York Times)

Read of the Day: Against Shootouts

Sepp Blatter promised a rethink four years ago…but here comes another World Cup that could be decided on PKs. Instead, what about overtimes with progressively decreasing squad sizes…down to seven on seven, say? (Christopher Clarey/NYTimes.com)