I am interested in doing my research question/research topic on the corruption and current disgrace of the Federation Internationale de Football Association. I am so interested in digging into the malfeasances of the Federation Internationale de Football Association because I have breathed the sport of football (soccer) since the age of five. I played on a local recreation team with my twin sister for several years. By third grade I was playing on a travel team that would have games and tournaments all weekend long across many states. My first two seasons with this team we combined for 1 win, 1 tie, and 16 losses, but I never failed to lose love for the sport. Next, I moved to a rec-plus team which meant that all my games would be played locally within my state. My team once again suffered in our first two seasons, but finally had a breakthrough the third season as we went from last to first and won the league title. I will never forget winning the championship on that December night in negative two degree weather. Ever since then I have craved competition and more importantly prioritized winning. Over the next few years I would join a few other travel teams and also played for my high school team. On my high school team I made varsity as a sophomore and became captain my senior year. The four years I was on the team were the four winningest years in my high school's fifty year history. Besides loving to play the sport of football I spend countless weekend afternoon's watching it. I love watching all leagues of football and comparing the different styles from Mexican, to Brazilian, to Chinese, to Russian. However; I most specifically enjoy watching European football. My favorite league is the Barclays Premier League or the English Premier League. I support Liverpool. I am also a huge aficionado of Spain's Barcelona and America's D.C. United. But most of all I love to watch international soccer like the World Cup. Although the Federation Internationale de Football Associate is in charge of governing all forms of football across the globe they are most importantly charged with the task of running international football. Aside you will see a picture of some of my friends and I during a world cup game this past year. This is why when the official news came out last year that Federation Internationale de Football Association was having more than a dozen of its top officials charged with corruption and bribery charges it shocked the world. However; little has been done to try and reform football's main governing body. There would appear to be a very underwhelming response to this news. When baseball had the 1919 World Series fixed the sport nearly died. All players involved in the act were permanently banned for baseball. When the all-time hit leader of baseball was accused of betting on games as a manger, he was forever banned from the sport he had given so much. Tim Donaghy, a former NBA referee, is currently serving jail time for point shaving NBA games.  The classic movie, "Goodfellas", ends with the gangsters getting caught because of a college basketball point shaving scandal. These men were put in jail for many years for their bribery crimes. So why have the executives of Federation Internationale de Football Association failed to fix this corruption? When did the corruption start? And who/what is ultimately to blame? This question is extremely arguable because you can argue that FIFA should be abolished, you can argue that every employee should be fired, you can argue that things are okay the way they are. You can also argue that it was the past regime's problem. Or you could put all the blame on Blatter. Some people might blame the fans for continuing to support such an appalling organization. Without the fans FIFA would make no money and have no interest. 

"Fifa Corruption Crisis: Key Questions Answered - BBC News." BBC News. BBC News, 21 Dec. 2015. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.

The article, "Fifa Corruption Crisis: Key Questions Answered  --  BBC News", talks about Fifa's alleged corruption over the past twenty years. It explains all the Fifa officers that have been indicted and what they were indicted for. The future of the two upcoming World Cups are pondered along with potential brides that occurred at the South Africa and France World Cups. It also touches specifically of the status of the Uefa and Fifa president's that are both being investigated. The author is BBC News. BBC is the British Broadcasting Corporation that is responsible for delivering news and events to the public. They are credible because they are a news company that make a living delivering impartial news. If they did not write accurate articles they would not be in business. However; the author does only display negative facts about FIFA which could show some bias.


This article was written before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In talks about the constant corruption of FIFA and many other inexcusable offenses that soccer's main governing body has committed. They use the death of Brazilian workers, the relocation of many Brazilians to build stadiums, and brides as reasons for FIFA to be abolished. The author is Dave Zirin with The New York Times. This is credible because he writes for one of the largest and most credible newspapers in the world, The New York Times.


FIFA is soccer's governing body and in 2014 they made more than 2.4 billion dollars in profit. This profit came from ticket sales, sponsors, and TV deals. This means that 40 million dollars went to FIFA's top 13 executives. Despite all this revenue, FIFA is corrupt. They claim they are a non-profit organization, but have one billion dollars in reserves. Their top executives take bribes and they support awful working conditions. The article is published through CNN money which is a pretty reliable source. The author, Virginia Harrison, holds a degree in journalism and law. She has spent years as a reporter. This credibility is important because it helps the audience trust what the author is saying.


