Should anyone be proud of winning the right to host the 2018 World Cup?

*sigh* ... "Panorama: Three top FIFA men 'took bribes'" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11841783) is the headline that greeted me this evening as I undertook my standard hourly check of the BBC Sport homepage. I wish this story was unique but, sadly, it is merely the latest revelation in a string of stories that have tarnished FIFAs waning reputation.

With the ensuing Panorama investigation, the suspension of two FIFA officials back in October and the resignation of Lord Triesman after allegations in the Sunday Times, all of a sudden the privilege of hosting the 2018 World Cup seems to be based more about 'who you know' rather than on any solid credentials such as infrastructure and fan participation. Looks like the 'noble art' of politics is alive and well in football. *sigh*



With the cacophony of controversy surrounding FIFA and the 'back door dealings' of the voting process, the FA, and indeed English football, has to ask itself how much honour and pride it can take if the 2018 bid meets with success on Thursday? Indeed, are recent events detracting from the overall sense of achievement a country should feel in gaining the right to host football's greatest competition?

Is it all about money?

All this talk of bribery and corruption places huge question marks over the motivations of the bid teams themselves. It cannot be questioned that hosting a World Cup would bring a country together but an unfortunate side-effect of this is the tremendous level of commercial sponsorship and financial reward tournaments of this scale bring. For the men in suits who make the final decision and indeed bidding officials the dollar signs must be flickering in front of them. Football is not about the money; a sentiment that REAL fans will echo.

After England's exit from the 2010 World Cup, unofficial football pundits and podcasters David Baddiel and Frank Skinner mused over the workings of the English "Back the Bid" campaign and came to the conclusion that the FA seemed to care more about the 2018 campaign than the success of the national team down in South Africa.

"The whole bid process is utterly embarrassing isn't it? It's people begging FIFA to give them the World Cup". I mean, shipping in David Beckham for the ceremonial handing over of a big book to Sepp Blatter, the highly publicised meeting between David Cameron and the FIFA president, people crawling round behind the scenes to please the voting officials - it would appear that the entire process is just designed to massage the ego of the FIFA suits.

Skinner suggests that a 'Eurovision Song Contest-style' system whereby countries that win the World Cup automatically assume the right to host the next competition would be preferable. Such a procedure would, in theory, force countries to focus on the performance of their team on the pitch rather than political dealings off it.



I cannot doubt that the nature of the bidding system has tainted the prospect of "England 2018" due to the money-grabbing, grovelling and sucking up that it clearly takes to be successful.

Some hope...

...BUT (and it is a big but) I must stress that the football fan and the proud Englishman inside me is one hundred percent behind the England 2018 bid for one reason and one reason only... it's the World Cup! I think it would generate such a huge degree of excitement in a country where football is an obsession and would furthermore inspire and encourage England's current crop of youngsters to really get their heads down and work harder than ever for the honour of wearing the three lions on home soil. Patriotism is undoubtedly a huge aspect of the bid from a fans perspective and the bidding teams must recognise this.

Given the fact that hosting a World Cup would mean so much to so many people surely it is essential that the winning bid campaign is selected fairly via a voting process that is transparent and trustworthy? Sadly, the commercial nature of modern football will always encourage those in charge to chase profits over passion. The problems, unfortunately, rest with FIFA who have some serious issue to address, but will they bother? Only time will tell...


Some interesting links:

"What's a World Cup Worth?"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/gordonfarquhar/2010/11/whats_a_world_cup_worth.html

"Top revenue ranking for England 2018 Fifa World Cup bid"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9240857.stm

"Profiles: FIFA accused"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11866165