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“LAST WEEK TONIGHT” host John Oliver did a 13-minute segment on Fifa on his HBO show last year.
It was masterful.
He touched on nearly every contemporary criticism of the organisation, ripping them for everything from 2014 World Cup costs to Qatar’s abysmal human-rights record.
The litany of things he talked about:
- The $270-million stadium in Manaus — an Amazon outpost without a professional team and no need for a giant soccer stadium.
- Fifa reaping the profits of the World Cup while leaving Brazil with the costs.
- Fifa forcing Brazil to repeal a public-safety law that banned the sale of alcohol in stadiums: “FIFA seemed anxious to protect Budweiser from a law designed to protect people.”
- Fifa’s tax-exempt status as a nonprofit, even though it has $1 billion in the bank: “When your rainy-day fund is so big you’ve got to check it for swimming cartoon ducks, you might not be a nonprofit anymore.”
- Fifa’s propaganda film.
- Sepp Blatter saying the way to boost interest in women’s soccer is by having the players wear tighter shorts.
The best part of the 13-minute segment was about the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Here’s Oliver talking about the heat and bribes:
“You are hosting the World Cup somewhere where soccer cannot physically be played. That’s like if the NFL chose to host the Super Bowl in a lake.”
“There are now allegations that some FIFA executives took bribes to put the World Cup in Qatar. And I hope that’s true, because otherwise it makes literally no sense.”
Here’s the full video:
Meanwhile, fellow chat show host Jon Stewart had his own unique take on the latest developments last night.
Highlights include: “This FIFA corruption started Jennifer Lawrence ago.”
