Now this rant is not much more than a vent of pure frustration; mostly for that wonderfully corrupt association that the world knows as FIFA. Now, some people may assume that this rant came about because of the frustrating World Cup 2022 announcement a few days ago, and you would be correct in assuming this. 

You see, the thing is that much of the footballing world already pretty much knows that FIFA is an organisation that is corrupt; proof, I have none, but the rumours and whispers have been circulating for years, and even the BBC released a documentary (that was quite damning) last week, which claimed to show and prove the allegations that have been circulating for years.  

The problem is, any time these allegations make an appearance they disappear just as quickly than when they appeared. Even before this week's World Cup announcement, there were rumblings and mumblings in the football world, mainly regarding Qatar and its bid to host the Cup. Now, under normal circumstances, I wouldn't mind a nation from the Middle East hosting the Cup, but the thing is, I am pretty positive (as is the whole football world) that Qatar basically PAID for the privelege to host the 2022 World Cup; seriously, it is quite a joke.  

But my anger lays not with Qatar; but with FIFA: an old boy's club that relies on secretive ballots, and seems to be a shadowy organisation. The one thing that angered the Australians, and the Americans and British, was that prior to the announcement the EX Com (executive committee) that votes in the secret ballot (which in itself is a joke: seriously, a secret ballot?) are alleged to have made promises to Australia and Britain in particular, that they were going to vote for those two nations; as it turned out in the end, the USA, Australia, and Britain had a COMBINED TOTAL OF 6 VOTES! A joke if there ever was one; Australia received just ONE vote (according to sources in Zurich) even though they were assured that they would have at least 4 votes from people including Beckenbauer, and Platini.  

Now, Platini is somebody I thought would be at least an honourable man, and the fact that these supposedly "assured" vote were given verbally to the Australian delegation, this then leads to the question of whether corruption has taken place. I mean, if these people ALL just happened to vote for Qatar (in a SECRET BALLOT, remember?) then the question really does need to be asked.  

I, for one, have an inkling that millions of dollars must have been exchanged somewhere along the line; politics in football is ruining the game, as is the astronomical amounts of dollars being exchanged. I may have a biased opinion, being in Australia and all that jazz, and admittedly, the Australian presentation to the delegates and essentially, the world, was shocking.    

Seriously, the presentation video that was shown to FIFA, and the world, was a shallow attempt at a hybrid of marketing and tourism; a bloody Kangaroo being chased by Mad Max who just actually turns out to be Paul Hogan, is such a joke that the whole football community of Australia should be ashamed. In this sense ,Australia seems to be a one trick pony; kangaroos and Crocodile Dundee, that is all we seem to have on offer to the world. Why the Australian Football Federation went for this shallow attempt at presenting Australia as a football loving nation, is beyond my comprehension; the presentation did NOT SELL Australia as a footballing nation, and rather than using footage of football, and great footballing moments, the youth system, and various facts that include that football in Australia is the most widely played sport, with more kids and youths playing the game for clubs (actual players for clubs, not including school soccer) than the native AFL football.  

Obviously, the video presentation (directed by Philip Noyce) was a waste of taxpayers money, and the millions of dollars wasted on it would have been better spent on selling the fact that Australia is a sports mad country; seriously, I could have come up with a better presentation than the rubbish that we came up with.
It must be said that the presentation alone would not have mattered, not much at all, especially when the suspected outcome was already set in stone from the very beginning.
 
* EDIT - there, is that better for your eyes?