Sexism, Scandal, Soccer: Inside FIFA’s Shadowy World
For one month every four years, bars and living rooms around the world fill up with soccer fans dressed in their countries colors to cheer on their team with the hope of capturing a World Cup title.
Similar to the Olympics, there's a sense that the whole world stops to watch the tournament, sharing the thrill of pursing one of sport's most coveted titles, even while knowing that the fate of all but one country will end in disappointment.
But behind fans emotional attachment to the game, soccer is a multi-billion dollar industry and it's governing body FIFA, and specifically its head Sepp Blatter, have been dealing with accusations of bribery, extortion, sexism and a general sense of being out of touch.
Blatter in particular has raised eyebrows for simplifying racial tensions, saying that racism could be solved with a handshake. His organization also drew criticism for being sexist and corrupt when FIFA's governing members were reported to have intentionally left woman off a committee to investigate ethics violations.
To discuss the structure of FIFA and why it's been so difficult to clean up, Christiane Amanpour spoke with ESPN's Bob Ley, whose been with the network since it began in the late 70's and heads their on air soccer coverage.
According to Ley, there is a sense that FIFA answers to no one and the material wealth they've accumulated along with the passion of their fans has created a system where FIFA only does as much as it needs to in terms of addressing unflattering accusations.
According to Ley, "There are tentacles of allegations of corruption winding around the globe several times."
