Sport is riddled with graft, from the bungs given to officials who help hand tournaments to undeserving countries, to the betting syndicates that rake in ill-gotten gains from match-fixing with help from unscrupulous players. Football's world governing body, fifa, more than any other sports organisation, has become a global symbol of this pervasive corruption. It has been beset by scandal in recent years, connected to, among other things, the distribution of global marketing rights and the awarding to Russia and Qatar of the rights to stage the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals respectively. Numerous investigations have been held, and several reports penned. But they have failed to stop the rot at the Zurich-based organisation.
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