Denverites should stand proud that the Mile High City is NOT hosting soccer’s World Cup.
Not because the event isn’t a big deal, and not because the sport isn’t worthwhile. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, so to speak, but it’s the most popular sport in the world – and hosting matches while being featured on the world stage would have been great for the community and the local economy, not to mention the continued growth of the sport locally.
But it didn’t happen because the asking price from FIFA – the corruption-plagued governing body of the sport – was too high. Local officials refused to bow down and agree to spend millions of dollars on things like “funding boosts,” providing tax breaks or making “upgrades” to our already very fine soccer venues (which have hosted major soccer events many times before) as FIFA “requested.”
Hmm.
You know that old saying about what happens when you get in the pit and wrestle with pigs? You might win, but you still get filthy.
It’s been just over a decade since “FIFAgate.” That’s when it was divulged that during an almost quarter century long period, FIFA officials were committing fraud, conducting money laundering and running a racketeering scheme. More than 40 top FIFA officials and marketing executives had raked in about $150 million of cash they weren’t supposed to have, and were found guilty of taking and soliciting millions of dollars in bribes. You don’t have to be a detective to figure out who was lining who’s pockets – including folks from cities willing to pay through the nose to host the World Cup.
Apparently, this time around, Denver just said no to all that.
More accurately, according to Chris Abshire of the Fort Collins Coloradoan, this time around, Denver was said to have offered up an “underwhelming host committee.” Is that a nice way of saying our mayor and governor refused to hand over the city’s ATM card to a bunch of would-be thieves?
Those most responsible for FIFAgate back in 2015 were removed and punished and are no longer part of the governing body. That does not mean the corruption is necessarily over. Habits formed over 24 years tend to die hard.
There’s no good reason – other than a refusal of city officials to “play ball, wink wink,” for Denver not to be one of the 11 United States’ host cities. Kansas City isn’t a better venue for soccer, nor is it a better location for ease of travel, for example. Our region not only has Empower Field, but Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Folsom Field, Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins and even the Air Force Academy. Denver has hosted several major events and they’ve all been highly successful. Instead, FIFA cited the altitude (a ludicrous claim when Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico are hosting) and a “regional isolation.” Like having the entire Rocky Mountain region to draw from wouldn’t have been a good thing.
Nope. It was all about the money… and FIFA’s lack of access to the hand space beneath the table.
The state is missing out on an estimated $300+ million in revenue that could have come with hosting World Cup matches. Instead, local fans will be helping out the revenue streams of the local sports bars.
Good for Denver and good for Colorado. Integrity doesn’t have a price.
Strike 2: No World Cup in Denver? Local officials wouldn’t bow down to FIFA Mile High Sports.
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