The Sports World Is Run by Crooks. It’s Time To Change the Rules of the Game.
The bodies that govern international sport are riddled with corruption and in need of drastic change. We need an alternative socialist vision for how sports should be run that gives priority to social well-being and international cooperation over nationalism and private profit.
Half the world tuned in to the 2018 FIFA World Cup.(Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In January 2020, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) fined Canada Basketball $227,138. It was punishment for the Canadian organization having withdrawn from two Americup qualifying games, citing concerns about player safety.
Many people involved with Canada Basketball have stressed how baffling they found these actions to be against the backdrop of a global pandemic. The fine clearly ignores the restrictions placed on international travel to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
However, FIBA’s actions should come as no real surprise. International sports federations (IFs, for short) around the world are notoriously corrupt and venal entities, and this is just one small example of their usual practices. From FIFA to FIBA and everything in between, IFs have been accused of fixing games, taking bribes, perpetrating wire fraud, and even committing acts of murder.
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