巴西世界杯教给我们的十件事_时事_双语阅读-查字典英语网

巴西世界杯教给我们的十件事

6) FIFA is finished

We didn't really need the World Cup to tell us that. But the convergence of publicity at the FIFA Congress last month simply confirmed that it represents a broken model of governance. It looks like a 20th century institution still expecting that family patronage and old-school rules will get them by. The winds of change will blow away FIFA’s current corporate structure. Either it will fall to Sepp Blatter to introduce a whirlwind of reforms - stranger things have happened - after his inevitable re-election next year (which in itself demonstrates how rotten the organisation is); or sponsors will eventually unseat the tired old man of FIFA under pressure from US lawmakers.

7) Brazil shouldn’t have hosted the World Cup

Oh, it’s been fun, the best tournament in memory, largely because of the hospitality of the people, volunteers and staff and the rich football tradition here. In some ways you want Brazil to host every World Cup. It’s just you wouldn’t want the Brazilian government and the organising committee to be left in charge. The disparity between poverty on the streets and the billions lavished on stadia, such as the Brasilia National Stadium – currently under an audit committee investigation for suspicious over-pricing issues - and the Amazon Arena in Manaus, which have been built with state subsidies and which now serve no useful purpose is plain wrong. No country without a joined-up plan as to what the World Cup will do for its people should be permitted to host it. Still, Russia and Qatar up next, so don’t hold your breath.