MONEYBALL (FIFA UNCOVERED)

© Netflix

Has there ever been a World Cup that has had as underwhelming a build-up as this year's?

Qatar 2022 has felt off kilter ever since it was chosen to host the World Cup in 2010.

A big part of that is down to it occurring in November and December and not during June and July.

Although, to be fair, that is the right decision given the concerns over players having to cope with the searing summer heat.

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Nevertheless it feels odd having a World Cup in the run-up to Christmas.

The main reasons, though, for the lack of enthusiasm are concerns about Qatar's attitude to LGBTQ rights and its treatment of migrant workers who have had to build from scratch most of the eight stadia hosting matches.

There have been claims in the Guardian newspaper and from Amnesty International that between 6,500 migrant workers and 15,000 have died since the World Cup was awarded - although these figures have been vigorously disputed, as Deutsche Weile reported four days ago. 

While Qatari officials don't deny deaths have occurred - claiming 48 lives have been lost - even that figure is a grim spectre hanging over the tournament.

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Western reservations about Qatar '22 have not been helped in the past week by images of a Danish journalist being threatened and told he could not broadcast from the country while on live TV.

The about turn on the sale of alcohol in stadia 48 hours before the tournament has also left a bitter aftertaste in some mouths and is being seen as the Qataris biting back over Western criticism of their country and the bid.

Even David Beckham's carefully constructed brand - particularly as a favourite in the LGBTQ community - is taking one hell of a battering for being an ambassador for the tournament, thanks to some shrewd social media campaigning by the comedian Joe Lycett.

The arrival of Daniel Gordon's Netflix documentary 'FIFA Uncovered,' therefore, just days before the World Cup has no doubt been a further headache for the Qatari authorities.

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But it's actually even worse for football's discredited governing body.

Gordon's four part series is a withering examination of decades of corruption, greed, power games and pomposity in the upper echelons of FIFA.

It is a sorry tale of how the world's most popular sport became polluted by officials who often talked a big game while lining their own pockets.

And it all begins with the reign of Brazilian Joao Havelange as FIFA president and the uncomfortable spectacle of the 1978 Argentine World Cup.

The tournament played out while Argentina's military dictatorship ruled with an iron fist, torturing political opponents and even disappearing some.

With future president Sepp Blatter as his right hand man, the four part docuseries shows how Havelange ploughed on regardless and started to commercialise the game - getting into bed with Coca Cola, Adidas and other corporate sponsors.

The relationship with Adidas boss Horst Dassler sees the German business tycoon form International Sports and Leisure to manage FIFA's TV and sponsorship rights. 

But to do this, Gordon's documentary reveals how Dassler put Havelange on his payroll - effectively giving him a bribe of £1 million.

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Blatter, however, is waiting in the wings to take over from his mentor and the canny Swiss man orchestrates the Brazilian's departure at the 1998 FIFA Congress.

A smart operator, he courts delegates outside of Europe and engineers the defeat of the Swedish president of the European footballing body UEFA Lennart Johansson in the battle to succeed Havelange.

During his 15 year reign, Blatter subsequently presides over a governing body riddled with corruption.

Trinidad and Tobago administrator Jack Warner and USA delegate Chuck Blazer prosper from the game - allegedly pocketing bribes while they behaved like chieftains within the powerful CONACAF region of the North and Central American and Carribbean nations.

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But they are not alone, as staggering levels of corruption take place within FIFA and its member bodies over the management of funds and awarding of tournaments.

Money promised to Third World nations to provide top of the range training facilities never materialises in some countries.

Question marks are raised about bribery around the bidding processes for World Cups.

South Africa's successful bid for the 2010 World Cup may have had the emotional pull of Nelson Mandela but the documentary alleges it was also boosted by £10 million given to FIFA.

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Blazer and Warner's use of Mandela to cement their own credentials within the game also leaves a particularly nasty taste in the mouth.

Russia and Qatar's successful bids for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments are also mired in allegations of bribes paid to FIFA delegates - a charge vehemently denied in the documentary by Hassan Al Thawadi.

This is countered on the show by Phaedra Al-Majid who worked on Qatar's bid and claims she witnessed three African FIFA delegates being bribed with cash in an Angola hotel room to vote for their bid instead of the US.

'FIFA Uncovered' also carries claims that Qatar used its economic might to sway Thailand in the vote by striking a gas deal.

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It resurrects allegations that former French president Nicolas Sarkozy informed Michel Platini he would have to support Qatar's bid because of the economic benefits to his homeland.

The Qataris would go on to pump millions into French football by purchasing Paris St Germain whose roster included a certain footballer by the name of David Beckham.

As allegation after allegation of shady deals piles up, 'FIFA Uncovered' chronicles the events that resulted in the FBI investigating the organisation with the help of Chuck Blazer.

That ultimately led to the downfall of Blatter and Platini and their expulsion from the scandal ridden organisation.

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The docuseries exposes shines a light on FIFA's uncomfortable history of sportswashing with dodgy regimes from the Argentina World Cup to Vladimir Putin's Russia.

And while it is true that that phenomenon is not unique to soccer, with golf and Formula One motor racing among those sports that have recently benefitted, it raises awkward questions for the sport nonetheless.

Gordon raises his questions through the usual mix of talking head interviews with key figures and whistleblowers and the use of archive footage.

But there is no denying that he has sewn together a compelling docuseries packed with a lot of detail and some very eye catching interviews.

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It is the participation of Blatter that most astonishes as he proudly speaks of his time as FIFA secretary general and president and tries to counter the narrative that he knowingly presided over a culture of corporate corruption.

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether his pronouncements are purely cynical or just a demonstration of remarkable self denial.

However, try as he might, Blatter cannot rescue his public image from the stench of scandal.

While he comes across as a shrewd corporate politician, there are also delusions of grandeur - particularly about football's role in global affairs during his tenure.

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At one point it is claimed that Blatter was focussed on landing himself a Nobel Peace Prize.

An entertaining and dizzying expose of corruption at the upper echelons of the sport, 'FIFA Uncovered' ends on a rather downbeat note as the current leadership under Gianni Infantino, elected on an anti-corruption ticket, continues to implement previous decisions and gladhand the likes of Vladimir Putin.

Guido Tognoni, FIFA's former media director, is asked during the final episode if the organisation can ever rid itself of corruption.

"No it can't," he says.

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"As it is is structured now: no. Not possible."

Bear that in mind over the coming weeks as the TV schedules are dominated by matches in Qatar.

Remember Tognoni's words as FIFA switches its focus to the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico and considers bids for the 2030 tournament.

Think of it outside of FIFA when Europe's top football clubs resurrect their botched attempt to have a European Super League for the elite.

Football has become a sport greased by money and riddled with power games and it ain't showing any signs of getting any better.

('FIFA Uncovered' was made available for streaming on Netflix on November 9, 2022)