As American soccer fans, it's probably about time we moved on from last week's bid disaster. What's done is done, whining about it isn't going to change anything.
Any fallout to come from what is either FIFA business as usual or the final malfeasant straw won't be our doing; for all the marketing clout contained within American borders, US Soccer is hardly in a place to leverage it. Major League Soccer cannot afford any sanctions taken should our federation make some anti-corruption stand. Unless England chooses the nuclear option and pulls out of FIFA and invites the US to come along, there isn't much to consider. Soccer in the US can't afford our going rogue.
Don't get me wrong: it would be exhilarating to strike a blow against world soccer corruption by pulling American dollars out of the machine. I have my doubts that Nike, Coca-Cola, Budweiser, etc., would willingly sign up for such a thing, and without them, it's a non-starter. The US doesn't have the weight of England. MLS isn't the Premier League. There is much more to lose than there is to gain.
No one is clean in this mess. The Aussies are crying foul, claiming their bid was on the up-and-up, yet reports show they showered gifts on certain ExCo members. I'm willing to bet that the US did something along similar lines, working in the shadowy areas that are not quite graft, but not exactly appropriate. Sure, FIFA is dirty; but does that give US Soccer, the English FA, or anyone else the moral standing to moan about FIFA's power or process? Are the FA's not implicit in feeding the monster we're all now claiming is ruining the sport?
Oh right, we're just fans. It's hardly our fault. We just want it fixed. The question, of course, is what steps we'll accept from Soccer House. For every revolutionary, full of outrage and demanding action, there are hundreds abstaining, unaware, or ready to move forward. In fact, for every revolutionary, there is a fan who sees the uproar as sour grapes from a entitled American fan base. We can't all be right.
Without any control, it does us no good to rail continually about FIFA and Qatar. Some of the legitimate concerns about a Qatari World Cup are obscured by bad information and jingoist rhetoric. That means it's difficult to keep the discussion on a proper course, and any opinion on the folly of choosing Qatar is matched by soapbox moralizing on a flawed American world view. We've lost the middle ground.
This is my last word on the situation from an American perspective barring any shocking action by US Soccer. With 2026 on their minds, I don't expect such action is coming; even if it does, it won't change the reality of the situation. Reforms or not, I don't expect the World Cup to be taken away from Qatar. Of course, if something momentous happens elsewhere, especially in regards to the noise coming from England, I reserve the right to return to the general topic.
I leave you with audio of my chat with Grant Wahl. Grant was in Zurich, and gives his perspective on everything surrounding the bid decisions. I'll simply echo Grant's feelings that the World Cup bid loss hurts, but that it wouldn't have been some transformative event.
-JD
