回首巴西世界盃 全球嘉年華帷幕下世界足聯的腐敗與自私

The World Cup kicked off in Brazil on June 12 amid fanfare, but also local protests and international condemnation of organizer FIFA’s corruption and problematic inner workings.

當地時間6月12日，巴西世界盃在一片歡騰中拉開了帷幕，而喧囂之下則是對世界盃組織者國際足聯腐敗的譴責，對其內部運營的質疑和抗議。

FIFA was founded in 1904 in Paris as a simple rule-making committee that aimed to regulate the guidelines for a new, rapidly expanding sport when played between nations. But as a New York Times article points out, from its humble start, FIFA has changed over time into one of the most profitable and disreputable organizations in the history of sports.

國際足聯於1904年成立於巴黎，當時它只是一個制定規則的委員會，爲當時迅速崛起的國家間比賽的新型運動提供規則指導。但是，正如《紐約時報》報道所言，國際足聯雖然出身卑微，但隨着時間的變遷，它已經成爲運動史上盈利最多，卻名聲最差的組織。

FIFA claims itself a non-profit organization. But the fact is, it is extremely profitable. FIFA has its headquarters in the tax haven of Switzerland. According to a Guardian article, the group stands to rake in $4.5 billion (27.96 billion yuan) from this World Cup alone. The Guardian article says this is how FIFA operates: “Helicopter into a country, enjoy tax-exempt status, wrack up revenue from corporate sponsors and broadcasters, then take off to the next destination.”

國際足聯自稱是一個非營利性組織，但事實上它卻賺的盆滿鉢滿。國際足聯的總部就設在避稅天堂瑞士。據《衛報》報道，僅此次世界盃，國際足聯就可入賬45億美元（約合人民幣279.6億元）。《衛報》報道中稱其運營方式爲“坐着直升機到一個國家，享受免稅身份，從贊助商和廣播公司那裏大撈一筆，然後轉戰下一個地方。”

A Salon article offers further explanation. FIFA requires countries to protect their windfall at the people’s expense. Take this year’s World Cup as an example. At FIFA’s request, the Brazilian congress passed a law that gave FIFA and its sponsors exclusive commercial control over zones surrounding the stadiums. It also exempts World Cup sponsors – multinational corporations like Budweiser and McDonald’s – from Brazilian income, industrial and import taxes until the end of 2015.

《沙龍》雜誌則給出了更爲詳盡的描述：國際足聯要求舉辦國犧牲本國人民利益來維護它的權益。以本屆世界盃爲例，根據國際足聯要求，巴西國會通過法案給予足聯及其贊助商場館周圍區域獨家商業控制權，並免去其贊助商，如百威和麥當勞，在2015年之前的所得稅，工業稅以及進口稅。

Dark side

黑暗的事實

FIFA goes to extreme lengths to protect its interests. According to a CNN report, alcoholic drinks used to be banned in Brazilian stadiums because of the high death rate among fans. But because Budweiser is one of the key sponsors of FIFA, the organization forced Brazil to change the potentially life-saving law to allow Budweiser to sell beer.

爲了保護自己的利益，國際足聯可謂絞盡腦汁。CNN報道稱，巴西原本禁止在體育館內飲酒，因爲其球迷（飲酒）死亡率很高。但鑑於百威是國際足聯主要贊助商之一，國際足聯要求巴西方面修改這條旨在保護生命的法律，允許百威出售啤酒。

FIFA’s officials travel in private jets and put on pompous airs. But they are not doing their job well. One of FIFA’s responsibilities is to police match-fixing, the practice of arranging games to be played with a pre-determined result. But according to a New York Times investigation, only six people on its staff of 350 are responsible for such duties. FIFA is supposed to monitor corruption, but its officials are being accused of constantly involved in bribery scandals. There have long been allegations that bribes secured the 2022 World Cup for Qatar.

國際足聯官員乘坐私人飛機旅行，頤指氣使。但工作起來卻馬馬虎虎。其責任之一就是調查打假球，即在比賽前內定比賽結果。但據《紐約時報》調查顯示，國際足聯350名工作人員中，只有6人負責這一工作。此外，國際足聯應該負責監管腐敗，但其官員卻頻頻爆出受賄醜聞。已有指控稱其受賄以確保2022年世界盃於卡塔爾舉辦。

Many Brazilian people have been protesting to the government and FIFA over a game they can ill afford. Dave Zirin, writing in The New York Times, says for the first time the world is seeing FIFA for what it is: A stateless corporation that takes bribes while working with world leaders who want to use the majesty of the World Cup to push through their development agendas at great human cost.

許多巴西人都對巴西政府和足聯抗議，稱他們不堪世界盃的重負。戴夫•齊林在《紐約時報》文章中指出，全世界人第一次看到了國際足聯的本來面目：它就是一個無國籍公司，受賄斂財的同時與世界各國領導一起，利用世界盃的盛事，耗費大量人力成本，推動各自國家或組織的發展。

“The World Cup can be staged in countries with existing stadiums and infrastructure. Moreover, the secret bidding process for host countries must end so that soccer isn’t abused for economic and political ends,” Zirin writes.

齊林說“世界盃可以在那些已有場館和基礎設施建設的國家舉辦。此外，必須停止不公開的舉辦國競標流程，這樣才能讓足球比賽少一些經濟與政治目的。”