‘Tired’ England Ditches Thai Bribe

Joke team to skip joke fixture

The English Football Association has officially cancelled its national team’s friendly in Thailand this June because it has belatedly realised that its players need to rest, apparently. In fact the game was doomed the moment that England failed to win hosting rights to the 2018 World Cup, and they realised that their pledge to play in Thailand had failed to secure the vote of Thailand FA President and FIFA ExCom member Worawi Makudi.

This was one of multiple dubious promises (otherwise known as ‘bribes’) made during the farcical World Cup bidding process in the run-up to last month’s announcements in Zürich, and we cite it here because it’s just one blatant example illustrating the urgent need for outright reform of both FIFA and the way it awards its tournaments. Without a strong ethical code of its own, FIFA has no right to demand strong ethical practices in its host nations. And ultimately, that is the only way that the self-proclaimed world game can aim to play a worthwhile global role and genuinely become ‘more than a game.’ (And that’s why, in case you’re wondering, we’re bothering with this micro-protest in blog form. Yes, we’re starting at the bottom because, as with FIFA’s morals, the only way from here is up.)