Gianni Infantino, football’s favourite slap-head, was called in to run football’s over-ruling international body, FIFA, because his predecessor, Sepp Blatter, was a corrupt and self-serving nest-featherer who spent his time as boss in running the biggest gravy train in sport. And unlike other trains, it always ran on time. Blatter worked out that of the 211 nations who are part of FIFA, about 150 are piss poor. Some you’ve never heard of. Ok, I’ve never heard of. Like Eswatini. New Caledonia (clue: it ain’t in Scotland). São Tomé and Príncipe. San Marino is a ‘country’. We’ve all heard of it but it has a population the same as Kensington High Street, but obviously not such a posh one. But Blatter’s modus operandi was that he could ‘sell’ the World Cup to a host nation. Who wanted the ‘honour’ for credibility, for ‘advanced sports washing’. To improve their international status massively. Thus Russia was ‘awarded’ the World Cup, even though it was under sanctions worldwide for human rights issues. Qatar was ‘awarded’ it too. Even though the primary criterion is that the host nation must be a ‘footballing country’. Qatar isn’t. Its a camel country. An oil country. Its the country of sanctuary for Hamas leaders and other terrorists. But it ain’t a footballing country. Its too fucking hot to play football there. But Blatter took… however much (a lot), knowing he could use a big chunk to offer bribes to the 150 poor countries, most of which are corrupt anyway, to win the vote. The rest of the cash was his.

Suffice to say: this wasn’t really how FIFA was intended to be run. So they booted him out. And sent in… The Saviour!!! The Son of God!!! Gianni Infantino. Brilliant. Clean up the mess. Perfect.

And ten years later, we’re seeing what the man is really like, and how his new proposal to ‘sell off commercial rights’ of the World Cup, will use that same Blatter methodology of, basically, giving loads of money (relatively) to piss poor countries so they’ll vote for the proposition, with the ‘national heads’ of their associations inevitably being enriched in the process. Sadly, in the current structure, its unstoppable.

“The world cup in America was a massive success”. So say FIFA and so say America. Because they made $18billion from it. Wow! Which inevitably means a few hundred thousand dedicated football fans were ripped off, royally, to generate that figure. Ticket sales were hiked, transport costs outrageous, hotels charging exploitative rates. So a ‘massive success’, other than for the people for whom the game exists. For the parasites who run it and organise it; its all their Christmases come together.

Now he wants to sell FIFA. To Donald Trump’s mishpucha (distant relation). Because Infantino is already ‘in bed’ with Don, to an embarrassing degree and now he wants to let a bunch of unfootballing Yanks control our game.

Which will ruin the World Cup, forever. They’ll have it every 2 years, maybe every year. Tickets will only be affordable to Beyonce and Taylor Swift, a 20 minute train ride will cost $120 and a cup of coffee at the stadium; £25.

I just fucking hate this. I just fucking hate Gianni Infantino.

Otherwise: HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!!

A. xxxx