Show Cover

Being a member of FIFA is like being in a secret garden. There's an unspoken code: "you can do whatever you want."

# Review

This docuseries explores the shady dealings of the global organization charged with regulating the sport of football (soccer). The docuseries explores the power, both hard and soft, that FIFA wields over the sport and how said power was used corruptly. The docuseries explores the individuals involved and the culture and inner political structure within FIFA.

Before watching this I roughly knew of the corruption and the lack of oversight in FIFA, but after watching this, it was jarring just how blatantly corrupt and completely lacking of morals FIFA is. It’s almost like an episode of Game of Thrones where everyone is willing to forgo all principles in exchange for money and power. I also didn’t know that FIFA was so powerful, such as basically forcing an ailing Nelson Mandela to beg in order for the World Cup to come to South Africa.

The documentary does a good job exploring the individuals’ roles in the various scandals. The individuals range from the former FIFA President Sepp Blatter who apathetically denies all involvement, to the continental heads of FIFA, who were almost all corrupt, such as Jack Warner (former President of CONCACAF), Nicolás Leoz (former President of CONMEBOL), and Chuck Blazer (former General Secretary of CONCACAF). The docuseries covers the history of FIFA, from FIFA’s inception, to the the political turmoils within FIFA, all the way up to the present day and the 2015 FIFA corruption case. What emerges is a global organization that gained massive unchecked political power and had a hard grip over one of the largest sports in the world. The power and influence were then used by unscrupulous men to extract money and power for themselves.

# Conclusion

A sobering look at a corrupted sporting organization.

# Overall rating: 7.4

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