Are world cup games rigged ?

 Are World Cup games rigged?

​The first question we must ask is this: Are major sporting events about money or athletics? While FIFA might say their chief aim is to promote global harmony through sports, fair competition, etc., one must look beneath the words to see the true motives.

​Wasn't it FIFA who recently created a global peace award to give to President Trump after he didn't receive the coveted Nobel Peace Prize for claiming to have ended many wars? Can such an organization be considered above reproach?

​Let's go back to our conversation. FIFA is foremost a business. They are in the sports business, and in business, the goal is to sell a product and make money. Nothing is wrong with being in business to make a profit. The problem arises when one seeks to make it appear as if they are not in business.

​The World Cup, like any other major competition—the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc.—is about money: merchandising, ticket sales, television rights, etc. As a business manager, you have to make sure you sell the right products and that you are able to retain customers. And so, you want to make sure the best teams and best players who will attract many people to the games are there. The ways the World Cup groups are set up are for the benefit of the big nations, to greatly reduce the chances of early exits.

​European teams bring massive support and great revenue; as a business manager, you want to make sure more spots are given to European teams. More European teams means more money.

​Now, I’m not saying that every game is rigged, but I believe to a great degree it is controlled—not necessarily like the scripted games of World Wrestling Entertainment, but we are to remember that sports itself is entertainment. And so, there is a degree of control there, unbeknownst to the spectator.

​Can you imagine if all the big European teams were knocked out and some African team and a South American team that is not Brazil or Argentina were to make it to the final? Viewership may be impacted, and so decisions might be made in games to prevent that. I saw the highlights of a game between Ghana and England where an English player clearly tackled a Ghanaian player in the box and made no contact with the ball at all. It was a clear penalty; the game was drawn at the time and a goal could have put England in serious trouble. The referee didn't make the call, and VAR (Video Assistant Referee) didn't even bother to take a look at it.

​At the same time, there was a game between Senegal and Belgium. The game was 2-2 and the penalty shootout was looming. A coming-together of a Belgian attacker with a Senegalese player was waived off by the match referee, but VAR called him to review the play. The referee took a while before he decided to give Belgium a penalty—a penalty at the end of extra time, just before the penalty shootout. Belgium scored; Belgium won.

​Do you think they would have made that call in favor of Senegal? Probably not. Why? Senegal does not offer the same huge market as Belgium. Plus, recently, two big European teams were knocked out of the tournament—Germany and the Netherlands. To lose Belgium could have been something very bad in a business sense. Can you imagine all those fans going back to their country so early? Restaurants, hotels, etc., are all impacted. How many fans from Senegal traveled to the States? How many fans from Cape Verde made it here? So, allowing such small teams to go further at the expense of big teams doesn't make business sense at all.

​Protecting the big teams and the home teams becomes a business decision. In some games, you would even see teams that are in a losing position playing as if they are winning, with no urgency, etc., which brings suspicion as to match-rigging.

​The bottom line is this: the world is corrupt, many human institutions are corrupt, and FIFA itself recently had a corruption scandal. Sports at the professional level is probably much more a business than it is athletic; it is much more about money than fair competition, and the Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil. When money is the main goal, you can be sure that corruption will be there. It may be hard to spot at first, but if you pay close attention, you can see the hints of it.

​Professional sports is for the entertainment of the masses, to give them a storyline, to make them worship a hero. And like all forms of entertainment, some form of scripting exists. Do not put your heart in these things, for they are not as fair or free as you may believe.