In 1928, Jules Rimet persuaded his FIFA colleagues that the idea of a football World Cup might have some mileage.
The charismatic Frenchman envisioned a tournament which would unite nations, promote comradeship and fair play, and bring people together on the football pitch.
He could never have imagined the monster he was unleashing, the vast, sprawling, money-making political propaganda machine which serves as a magnet for dictators, autocrats and despots, aided and abetted by moral pygmies like Joao Havelange, Sepp Blatter and Gianni Infantino.
The World Cup has always had a dark underbelly. Fascism was waving a baseball bat in football’s face when world football’s governing body awarded the 1934 World Cup to Benito Mussolini’s Italy.
Il Duce vowed to make Italy “great, respected and feared” and football was his ideological battlefield. Demanding nothing less than an Italian victory, he had no intention of presenting the trophy to any team other than his own.
The night before the semi-final against Austria, Swedish referee Ivan Eklind was alleged to have “discussed tactics” with Mussolini. He was summoned to meet fascist dignitaries before the final against Czechoslovakia as well and, lo and behold, Italy won the cup after extra time and retained it four years later.
When the world marvels over Pele’s magnificent Brazil team of 1970, they rarely mention General Medici meddling with team selections. Or president Joseph-Desire Mobutu accusing the Zaire team of shaming the nation by losing 9-0 to Yugoslavia four years later.
Trailing 3-0 to Brazil in their final game, Mwepu Ilunga became an unlikely cult figure when he broke from the defensive wall as Jairzinho and Rivellino prepared to launch a thundering free-kick and booted the ball up field.
A moment of ridicule and hilarity for most ignored the serious motivation for Ilunga’s actions. Players feared that another thrashing against Brazil would cost them their lives.
In 1978, General Jorge Videla’s military junta pulled out all the stops to ensure that Argentina won the World Cup. Vladimir Putin’s Russia hosted the tournament in 2018 to legitimise democratic backsliding and the annexation of Crimea.
Read more
Gianni Infantino urges people to ‘chill’ and put faith in FIFA at World Cup Everton ordered to pay Burnley more than £35m in compensation over PSR breaches
Qatar then caused a global outcry four years ago. Systemic corruption allegations in the bidding process was followed by the death of construction workers building stadia and a furious row over One Love armbands and attitudes towards homosexuality.
When he took over from the brazen Blatter as president of FIFA, Infantino vowed to “restore the image of FIFA and the respect of FIFA. We need to implement good governance and transparency”.
The definition of “good governance and transparency” seems to be sucking up to regimes with autocratic tendencies. First it was Russia, then it was Qatar and Saudi Arabia, then came the award of the inaug-ural FIFA peace prize to an American president who threatened to invade Greenland, launched a military strike in Venezuela and entered into a war with Iran.
Fat lot of good all that sucking up seemed to do. The FIFA president has lost control of his own World Cup of chaos. A man who rose without trace is now sinking in a mess of his own making.
At last year’s FIFA Congress, he turned up days late, preferring a trip to Qatar and Saudi Arabia with Trump, telling his audience “the world is welcome in America”.
Visa issues now place a huge question mark over citizens of certain countries making it to America at all.
Even FIFA referees. Omar Artan is the No.1 referee from Africa. The first Somali to take charge of a continental final, he handled the second leg of Pyramids FC’s African Champions League final victory over Mamelodi Sundowns.
Appointed to the U-20 World Cup in Chile, he took charge of three matches, including the third-place play-off, then refereed two group games at the Africa Cup of Nations
In March, he was appointed as one of the World Cup referees and flew into Miami to join up with the other 51 officials until, after an 11-hour grilling by immigration officials, he was put back on a plane.
In June 2025, Donald Trump placed a full entry ban on people from 12 countries, including Som-alia and three World Cup finalists – DR Congo, Iran and Haiti. And just two days before the draw in December, the American president added that the Somali immigrants should “go back to where they came from” and that the US would “go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country”.
Add this to the astronomical cost of tickets, legal challenges, criticism of the hotel booking system and exorbitant travel costs, as well as former UEFA president Michel Platini launching legal proceedings against him over corruption allegations which derailed his campaign to lead the world body, and Infantino’s American dream is souring fast. Calls for his resignation are futile, but rising in volume.
A politician to his bootstraps, the FIFA chief is now the president of his own nation state. At the recent congress in Vancouver, the excruciating spectacle of his attempt to broker a handshake on stage between representatives of Israel and Palestine came with a predictable outcome.
This will be the biggest and most diverse World Cup in history, no question. Infantino used his opening World Cup press conference – his first media conference for three years – to describe it as the “biggest event in mankind”.
For the first time, Europe and South America will account for less than half of the qualified teams. Africa makes up a record 20.8 per cent of the field. Asia clocks in with nine teams at 18.8 per cent. North/Central America and the Caribbean make up 12.5 per cent.
Infantino’s vision of a “global game” curries favour with the grateful nations he needs to cast their vote his way in the next presidential election.
Speaking in Mexico City, the Swiss urged people to set all those unfortunate headlines to one side.
“Today I hope that we can talk about football. That’s what we are here about, right? I know that there are other topics as well and we will definitely touch on them. I would like to touch on them but I would ask you to really focus on football.”
After 20 minutes of flannel which would shame a second-hand car salesman, there was no way of avoiding the three key issues of the day. Iran, tickets and visas.
Read more
Edinburgh schoolchildren feature in Scotland World Cup anthem video Hearts confirm fourth summer transfer, potential Lawrence Shankland replacement
On Iran he praised himself for the “impossible” task of Iran playing in the World Cup.
“I don’t know who else, in these circumstances, which we cannot influence, obviously can make Iran come and play,” he said.
On ticket prices, he argued that the sale of six million tickets showed that demand was sky high, describing the clamour as “incredible”.
He said: “It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and you need to deal with local habits and local customs.”
The NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs are currently gripping America, and Infantino argues that the average ticket price of $500 is fair enough because basketball charges more.
When it comes to visas, a man who hangs out with Trump and world leaders tried to paint FIFA as a powerless victim of circumstance.
“Of course it is unfortunate what happened with Omar the referee from Somalia,” Infantino said. “But again we don’t control everything. Maybe sometimes it’s good to chill, relax. We work on everything and try to solve everything.
“Screaming and shouting is the opposite of finding a solution. But we are not kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces. We are a sports
organisation and try to do our best with the means that we have, and we want to unite the world.
“If you want to criticise me, that’s fine, it’s okay. But promote the feeling of the World Cup.”
The trouble is that the FIFA World Cup is in danger of being overshadowed by a man with limbs so long he is known as The Alien.
At seven foot four, French basketball superstar Victor Wembanyama is a man so tall they can see him from space.
And in Madison Square Garden, the sporting Mecca immortalised by giants, the San Antonio Spurs fought their way back into the NBA finals by bullying the Knicks in the third game of the series.
Watched by President Trump and comedian Larry David, 22-year-old “Wemby” towered over the sporting landscape. Claiming 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks.
On Tuesday morning, his image was on every back page. On the television set in the hotel lobby, he was never off the screen.
In North Carolina, they are pretty excited by the local hockey team, the Hurricanes, going head to head with the Golden Knights – Bill Foley’s team from Las Vegas – in the Stanley Cup final.
Even that failed to knock Wembanyama off the sporting agenda. Behind the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals are big news across the States. The World Cup of chaos is barely a footnote.
In a taxi to Scotland’s Charlotte training base yesterday, the driver – a keen soccer fan – was scathing.
“There is no buzz at all, man. They should have taken the World Cup to a different country.”
Had Infantino been in the back seat, even he might have had cause to nod his head in agreement.
