It’s shocking it took this long, but FIFA, the infamously corrupt governing body of soccer, finally faces some serious legal trouble after decades of controversy. The U.S. Government dropped the hammer on several current and former FIFA executives for a litany of charges including money laundering, racketeering, bribery, and fraud.
The most controversial and obvious example of this corruption came when Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup. It made little sense to hand Qatar the sport’s biggest event while they struggle with a deservedly-terrible human rights reputation. Bribery was the only viable answer as to why such a small country with little to no soccer culture and so many other problems was handed the World Cup.
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Qatar was understandably unprepared to host such a massive event and quickly needed to begin construction on the infrastructure necessary. Sad and stunning reports regarding the frequent deaths of migrant workers helping with the construction have recently been released. The Washington Post put together a chart illustrating the body counts of works involved.
An investigation by The Guardian last year estimated that Nepalese migrant workers were dying at a rate of one every two days. The International Trade Union Confederation reported around 1,200 workers died in 2012 and 2013.
There’s still another seven years to go until the Qatar World Cup and it’s upsetting to think how many more deaths there still might be. This chart helps put in perspective just how selfish these corrupt FIFA officials truly are.
Seth Lassen is a writer for RantSports. ‘Like’ him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @Seth_Lassen.