Soccer is truly the world’s sport. It is played and watched by more people across the globe than any other sport.
Every four years, it is the center of global attention when the World Cup is held. It’s as if the World Series and Super Bowl were rolled into one mega-sporting event with viewership in the hundreds of millions.
A private organization based in Switzerland called FIFA controls the selection of the host country, the commercial sponsors for the event, and the rules by which the matches are played. In other words, FIFA has monopoly control over this massive global event.
For decades, many fans and players, including leading professional soccer stars, have considered FIFA to be a deeply corrupt organization. Now the United States, itself not a leading soccer nation, has challenged FIFA’s position as global arbiter of the sport by indicting leading soccer officials.
