KickStream briefing
This KickStream briefing is an original editorial summary. Every sentence below is fully rephrased from publicly available reporting — we never republish third-party article text.
It has been a remarkable few days for an institution that may be irredeemable but this is a story that stretches back to a decision in 2010 There are decades in which nothing happens, and weeks in which decades happen, and those weeks tend to outcome in leaders being toppled. In addition, not even a fortnight ago, Gianni Infantino was taking his victory lap on Instagram, attacking “those behind their pens and papers, behind their screens spreading hate and false rumours” who had dared to question elements of his World Cup, which had generated a record $15bn in revenues.
Reports also note that but the next day came the revelation of his plan to sell the World Cup to outside investors and a backlash that has him scrabbling to save his presidency. Further context suggests it has been a remarkable few days, but this is a story whose roots stretch way back, to the decision in Zurich in 2010 to award the 2022 World Cup not to the US but to Qatar, to a furious Bill Clinton hurling an ashtray across the room and demanding action, to an FBI inquiry into corruption, and to the flipping of the larger-than-life Concacaf general secretary Chuck Blazer, who had two apartments in Trump Tower, one for himself and one for his cats.
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Reporting originally appeared via Football | The Guardian. Facts, quotes, and context in the source may differ from this rephrased briefing.