Column | The trail of money leads to the desert

The desert is alive. And how. In ten years it will even become a playground for football fans from all over the world, because - you won't believe it - because then the best footballers on the planet will put on their sandals and fight for the title of world champion. All members of the International Football Association (FIFA) have loyally and without blushing approved the idea of the great chairman Gianni Infantino to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia. Virtually. Controlled. Just as if someone had already thrown a good portion of desert sand in their eyes. Or are they even avoiding climate change with its many floods, fires, droughts, lack of energy, extinction of species, and retreating glaciers.

Is the only thing left now really the desert, where sweat drops from the brow at kick-off without even having taken a single step? We suspect that the changes in the world have not influenced the football officials, because not even issues such as human rights are heard. Or the death penalty. They don't want to deal with that, even though it is supposed to be dramatic and still highly topical according to Amnesty International. Unimportant.

In 2024, the World Cup will take place in Saudi Arabia. © APA/afp / HAITHAM EL-TABEI

The Saudis' gas and oil are important. After all, we don't want to have a cold place when the ball rolls in winter, as it did recently in Qatar, and brightly dressed people stand offside in the penalty area, a particularly contested area on the pitch, and are surrounded by oversized air conditioning units blowing cold air. Meanwhile, in the stands, people in strange clothes fan their faces with a fresh breeze and Gianni's friends - yes, he obviously has a lot of them - sit on special chairs with golden armrests.

And what do we do? Let's be honest. We get upset for a short time, if at all, then we get the bag of chips out of the cupboard and a beer out of the fridge and wait full of anticipation for kick-off. For two hours (play time, half-time, injury time, previews) we don't give a damn about the poor souls in Saudi Arabia who don't agree with the decisions and guidelines of the royal family and who therefore have their personal freedom restricted a little. Some even lose their lives.

The Trail of Money At least Infantino remains true to his organization's motto of following the money trail first and foremost and doing favors for loyal friends time and again. And all the little Infantinos in the regional associations also want to participate in possible advantages or at least not accept any disadvantages. That's why their movements when making big decisions are reduced to this simple nod of the head. There is a cheap term for this from the animal kingdom, but I'll leave it to your imagination now, thanks to the relatively successful nursery.

FIFA will not be affected by criticism of the awarding of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia. The World Cup in Argentina in 1978, under Sepp Blatter as Secretary General and Joa Havelange as President, was also handled flawlessly during the military junta. Between 1976 and 1983, 30.000 people were kidnapped, tortured and killed in Argentina. The host became world champions. FIFA celebrated. Learning from the past is definitely not a virtue of the powerful, and in his field FIFA President Gianni Infantino is one of them.

The fact that the title fights will be held four years earlier (2030) on three continents (South America, Africa and Europe) only shows once again that Infantino is primarily doing everything he can to collect as many votes as possible for his projects in the most elegant way possible. Environmental protection, sustainability, climate protection even. For Infantino and his vassals, this is just ballast.

The main thing is that the ball keeps rolling and with it the ruble as a synonym for bubbling sources of money, which brings us back to the desert, where gas and oil are extracted from the depths of the Persian Gulf and generate so much immeasurable wealth that the desert can now be turned into green football fields. And I'll bet anything that one day, perhaps not too far away, the Olympic Games will also be held in Saudi Arabia. The World Cup is just an intermediate step on the way to the Olympics.

About the author: Sigi Heinrich The award-winning sports journalist (including winner of the German Television Prize, the Bavarian Sports Prize and nominated for the prestigious Grimme Prize), author, long-time sports editor of the Süddeutsche Zeitung and commentator for Eurosport since 1989, devotes his weekly column to the entire diversity of sport. With a wink, thoughtfully or deliberately provocatively, he also likes to poach in not so unfamiliar areas. There should be something for everyone.

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Column | The trail of money leads to the desert

With almost dictatorial behavior and a virtual vote, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has awarded the next football World Cups for 2030 and 2034. Our columnist Sigi Heinrich notes that Infantino's rule is not being questioned by any national association.

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