Netflix’s FIFA Uncovered Digs Into Soccer’s History Of Corruption

Two weeks before the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Netflix released a four-part docuseries focusing on FIFA’s history of corruption and rigged World Cup bids. 

The finished product tells the tragic and riveting story of how a non-profit promoting the world’s biggest sport became a rapacious and money-hungry global organization. 

FIFA Uncovered begins by unraveling the humble beginnings of the International Federation of Association Football more than a century ago. Founded in 1908 in Switzerland, the organization arose due to a need to organize international fixtures between different countries. 

After cementing its position as the governing body of soccer, the organization organized the first-ever FIFA World Cup in Uruguay in 1930. 

The international tournament—which has since been held every four years except in 1942 and 1946 due to World War II—is now the most prestigious sporting event worldwide. 

Expectedly, hosting the tournament is a coveted privilege. 

This is where the documentary begins to address the controversy about the decision by FIFA to allow Qatar, a small nation with no soccer heritage and long-standing human and worker rights violations, to host the tournament this year. 

The decision, which came as a shock in 2010 because the United States submitted a far better bid then Qatar, is what led to the unraveling of years of corruption within FIFA. 

Aiming to explain how the organization got to that point, episode one kicks off with the story of João Havelange’s rise to power.

The Brazilian, who served as FIFA’s president from 1974 to 1998, had promised to support soccer development programs in Africa. 

Without deep pockets, the organization had to find a way to finance the programs. That is why they reached out to Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s then-technical director, to find ways to obtain money. 

Eventually, Blatter’s work led to FIFA’s first advertising partnership with Coca-Cola—a decision that would forever link the organization with money and politics. 

In 1978, the organization’s involvement in corruption and politics was cemented when it continued to push for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina despite the country being under a military dictatorship with human rights abuses. 

The next two episodes explore Blatter’s eventual takeover of the organization in 1998 and the rise of corruption within FIFA by shedding light on the wrongdoing in the organization’s North American branch. 

After unraveling the mafia-like relationship structure within FIFA, the last episode focuses on the aftermath of Blatter’s demise and the more than 50 convictions FIFA officials received following investigations by the United States. 

The Netflix series does a great job of showing all sides of the story by interviewing prosecutors as well as Blatter and his accomplice Jack Warner.

With FIFA’s corruption now outed, FIFA Uncovered serves as a reminder that greed can corrupt anything—even something as pure as The Beautiful Game.