FIFA: Ballon rond et corruption

This documentary has dropped unfortunately too late for any effect on the upcoming, completely rigged World Cup in Qatar. This oil-rich country, who had no international football team when the "decision" was made is an absolute joke of a country. Completely sports-washed and voted for by a bunch of old men looking for a last ditch payday. Their lack of anything notable in sports, let alone football is STILL not even the main story, but their lack of human rights and terrible working conditions that have resulted in deaths of some people IS. These Arab princes should just stay away from the beautiful game and concentrate on their own issues. Stop trying to barge in to a market where you're not wanted. No wonder EA Sports have dropped the name FIFA from its own branding next year. They've definitely known this documentary was coming and want nothing to do with them.

Overall a great investigation and giving the mic to Blatter too was a genius move. He really shows how corrupt he was. FIFA is a mess and Qatar world cup's great final will not wash this fact or the fact that Qatar illegally bought this cup away.

FIFA needs to get better but this documentary shows the situation is even more dire than it was shown on TVs.

What this really deserves is at least 8 but bu.hurt arabs are spamming 1 or 2s into this title like crazy. It is obvious that Qatar does not like it when people talk about how corrupt they are or how their country was an awful choice for the world cup.

You know you're dealing with a psychopath Blatter when he could smirk at every horrible event/deed - even if he's not personally involved in it, the nonchalance is chilling. And if he isn't, and he wasn't aware of any wrongdoings, the fact that things were happening right under his nose and he's ignorant of them all makes you question what kind of a leader he was.

And "I like the question" + smirk when asked about abuses and deaths of foreign workers in Qatar. Goodness. ICYMI, this is the same guy who's reported to have ambitions to win the Nobel Peace Prize via FIFA.

Perhaps what needs more probing is our unquestioning psyche. There are many corrupted and immoral institutions in the world, FIFA is hardly the only one, yet most of us keep letting it recur, turn a blind eye as long as we could consume something nice. Worse, once we sense that we could benefit from a corruption, we will potentially turn to the dark side in the blink of an eye. But I think as long as money is regarded as the only thing of true value in most societies, I'm not optimistic anything will ever change.

As we watch FIFA football/soccer games, and even play video games almost every day, the dirty corruption behind the scenes is deeper and more widespread than we thought.

In 4 episodes, this documentary offers a few glimpses: FIFA's blind eye to dictators exploiting the sport, exploitation of players, buying votes for chairman/location elections, exploitation of workers from developing countries... it's all very infuriating. By the 4th episode, you can't help but feel only a small bit of justice has been dealt.

There are lingering questions, however. The documentary seems to uncover the tip of the iceberg. But how were other World Cup locations decided, besides Russia and Qatar? Were the culprits limited to CONCAFA? (can't be) No famous players wanted to contribute to the documentary? So there are limitations to this documentary, and understandly so since corruption is usually very hush hush.

Still, it's a good wake up call that organizations with loads of money, unchecked power, and easily exploited representatives from poorer developing countries make for good corruption (and probably not limited to FIFA)

This is a must see documentary even if you are not a futbol fan. Oh how greed can corrupt absolutely should be the subtitle for this film. Based on the book, "Red Card", it follows the evolution of FIFA from a non-for-profit steward of the world's beautiful game to a commercialized, money grabbing, pocket lining sham of an organization. It's top leadership, more interested in their own personal gain than helping to develop soccer in underdeveloped countries like Africa and Asia (one of its stated missions). This documentary helps to blow the lid off the deepest crevices of FiFA's illegal tactics.

More importantly, this documentary leaves the viewer with a broader lesson than just the corruption of FIFA. It explores "sports washing" - when authoritarian regimes with serious human rights abuses host large sporting events in hopes of cleaning up their image. From the Munich Olympics in 1936, hosted by Hitler to Russia and now Qatar hosting the World Cup sports lovers need to recognize how sports are being manipulated for political and economic gain. Qatar bought off FIFA so they could host - a country where women, LGBTQ, and minorities are treated like second class citizens. You will want to boycott this World Cup after watching FIFA Uncovered.