There is a scene that sums up ten years of stewardship better than any financial statement. On Sunday 5 July, hours after a referee sent off American forward Folarin Balogun in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, FIFA’s disciplinary committee overturned the sanction. The decision came after a phone call from Donald Trump to Gianni … CONTINUE READING →
FIFA has repeated, for a decade now, the same promise before every World Cup. This time it would be the most inclusive tournament in history, with more national teams than ever and a message of unity repeated at every press conference given by Gianni Infantino. The reality that took hold in the opening weeks of … CONTINUE READING →
By Gabriel Schwarb On Saturday 23 May, a boat sailed along the Magdalena river displaying a giant billboard bearing Abelardo de la Espriella’s face. In the night sky above the Gran Malecón in Barranquilla, drones drew the silhouette of a tiger over the crowd. Fifty thousand people looked upward while the music shifted from Joe … CONTINUE READING →