The gift that keeps on giving, did it again and this book by the Insight Team at the Sunday Times is another brilliant masterpiece that has exposed FIFA for what it is and what it symbolised for so many years and brings to light the shocking story of how one of the smallest nations with little to no football history, won the rights to the FIFA World Cup in 2022. The murky world of Sports Business and Politics is brought out in an astonishing dossier that engulfs not just Qatar, but the seemingly trusted officials that are running football across the world in both a regional sense and also by individual countries. It also shines a light on how football has become all about money and in a sense has lost its magical charm, that was once its crown jewell. 

Central to the plot is of course Qatar and its infamous Mohammed bin Hammam but mixed into this you can throw in the names of Sepp Blatter, Jack Warner, Chuck Blazer, Michel Platini and even the lauded Franz Beckanbauer, of whom none come out of this with any credit, though granted some are clearly more central to plot than others. It also looks at the English FA and their doomed bid to host the 2022 World Cup and their role in what gives off an unpleasant vibe, whilst for the most part taking less flack of what came of the scandal, though won't have put them in a positive light. The fact their bid was filled full of chaos was probably more striking as well as knowing that very early on, it was blatantly obvious what was going on, renders the question of why either something was said or the very least, they didn't pull their bid to save face.

The clandestine nature of Heidi Blake and Jonathan Calvert's investigation is harrowing at times, knowing that they felt unsafe in a world that mixes fraud, bribery and scandal with an inherent fear for their lives and their own deep-rooted insistence to close off their lives for a period of time to trawl through the endless information provided by the whistleblower. The be all and end all of this book is that it was another nail in the coffin of Sepp Blatter and the way FIFA had run for a long period of time. Though nothing could be done about the Qatar World Cup of 2022, it has seemingly brought an end to FIFA as we knew it. It remains to be seen whether this is the end of scandals involving FIFA, somehow knowing its history and the importance of money in the game today, leads me to be a sceptic that all will be good going forward. Don't be fooled with this book. Whereas with other books about FIFA that have been a tough slog (though never not fascinating, i might add) to keep the picture clear in your head, this book is able to do that by focusing on one singular event and a look across the globe at each regions involvement and is much easier to keep that picture and focus on what is a book that you won't want to put down. 

Don't take our word for it, its another very insightful book on the politics of sports business and Fifa once again, grab the book and give it a read and let us know your thoughts!