The Tentacles of Sport

The Qataris want to host the Olympic Games. They were frustrated when the International Olympic Committee rejected their efforts to move the Games to October. The Saudis are absolutely laser focused on bringing the World Cup back to the Gulf, either in 2030 or 2034. And so you are seeing deals with Mauritania, bilateral deals, Mauritania, Somalia, with the Catholic organisation that runs African football,. various countries. So they're actively lobbying. Actively putting their resources intoPutting their resources into acting as an influence over FIFA and other world governing bodies. It's something they wanted even before the World Cup. We're not talking about people who are desperately poor. We're talking about already wealthy sports people