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World Cup 2026
My son texted me. 'Did you watch the Spain vs Cabo Verde game? ' he asked.
'No,' I replied. I started wondering where the heck Cabo Verde was. Was it even a country? A quick Google search revealed it to be an archipelago of volcanic islands off the coast of Senegal in West Africa. Starting off as a former Portuguese colony, it is a now a thriving economy whose entry to the World Cup is as dramatic as Jamaica, a tropical country's, qualification to the 1988 Olympics bobsleigh finals.
My fascination with the razzmatazz of the 1978 World Cup was thanks to my Mathematics teacher, who tickled all of us into the nuances of the greatest game on the planet. His prophecy of 'no single team had won the Cup when the finals were held away from the team's continent except Brazil' was eventually debunked in 2014 when Germany won the Cup on South American soil (Japan and Qatar do not count).
Sadly, his adage that Brazil was the only nation to have won the Cup three times ended in 1982, when Italy won it for the third time.
The interest waned after the USA hosted the 1994 finals. It proved to be the most flamboyant and extravagant one. America, being America, infused the element of advertisement and commercialisation on a large scale. That, as historians and soccer experts agree, also deeply worsened FIFA's culture of corruption.
Soon, spectators started seeing injury times at the end of regular games extending longer and longer. The curious thing is that the winners are decided by goals that are invariably scored during this part of the match. To be uninformed, this is the human spirit that fights to the very end. To the others, it is the bookies showing their prowess in deciding who wins. The betting format is so complicated that bets can be placed even during the game. One can bet until regular game time or until injury time.
There was a time when betting was done clandestinely, below the radar, using code words, underground. Dog fights, illegal 4-D rackets and other bets were done below the radar. By the turn of the 21st century, the tide had changed. Betting companies advertise their services on displays by the field and online. Nothing is hush-hush. The English Premier League is also played off the field, and apparently Malaysian kingpins have a firm grip on its worldwide control (hearsay!).
FIFA is also not coming out smelling of roses from this whole fracas. There have been multiple allegations of widespread corruption in the selection of hosts. Many of its officials have been indicted for bribery. The so-called non-profit organisation is about to make USD 13 billion from the 2026 World Cup. This collection is said to come from broadcasting rights, licensing, sponsorship, and the biggest killer: ticketing. Who goes regularly every 4 years to immerse themselves in the month-long extravaganza? The die-hard football fans, of course. These fans are mostly working-class people who spend a fortune to get tickets to the game. Dynamic ticket pricing, where costs increase over time, as with hotels or airlines, may cost a leg and an arm. And this technique is now used in selling World Cup tickets. Imagine FIFA scalping fans for its own agenda. Of course, ticket sales do not translate into an improvement in the standard of football worldwide.
Then the US immigration's rather cold reception of officials and players from certain countries defeats the real essence of any sport, which is about friendship, cultural connections and putting politics aside, is out the window.
All this leaves a bad aftertaste. It is justified to be turned off by this tournament.
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Farouk Gulsara (asokansham@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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