Letter of the Day | Sullying the reputation of ‘The Beautiful Game’

THE EDITOR, Madam:

It’s called ‘The Beautiful Game’, and historians claim that about 2300 years ago people in Cuju, China were involved in kicking a leather ball into a net. Centuries later in 1846 at Cambridge University a team was formed with rules of play; within a few years a Football Association was established with several teams throughout England.   

That led to the game being called “assoccer”; shortened to soccer as it spread around the globe, to be known as football, futbol, phutball, footie, etc. This month is the quadrennial showcase of the sport, where international teams compete for the World Cup. It’s all very tightly controlled by the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA), but there are many blemishes that irritate the billions of fans worldwide. 

The 2022 tournament was held in the small and immensely rich Persian Gulf country of Qatar, where FIFA President Gianni Infantino skilfully navigated around all sorts of racial and cultural problems to produce a successful spectacle that was enjoyed world-wide. Prices were affordable for multitudes of fans who packed the newly built state-of-the-art stadiums, where 32 teams played a total of 64 matches in 29 days. 

The tournament expanded this year to include 48 teams playing a total of 104 games in 39 days; 13 games each are scheduled in Mexico and Canada, with 78 in US. The tournament coincides with the American 250th anniversary of independence, and kicks off on June 11; before a ball is played there are grumblings and mumblings from footie fans around the globe. 

FIFA has dramatically raised prices of everything, with tickets way beyond the grasp of average fans, outlandish prices of hotel accommodation in host cities have followed the greedy FIFA example, as have every other part of the travel, hospitality, merchandise and other industries surrounding the games. Last December Infantino made a big production of presenting US President Donald Trump with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. It seemed so tacky at the time, and now so completely phoney considering President Trump’s involvement with the war in Iran. 

Having been a fervent footie fan for all my life, I look forward to watching the televised matches, but feel ashamed and nauseated at how the FIFA hierarchy have so badly sullied the reputation of The Beautiful Game.

BERNIE SMITH

Parksville, BC

Canada