Like many Australians, CLIVE WILLIAMS has been watching the beautiful game streamed from the World Cup in Qatar. 

A PITY Qatar was chosen as the venue for the World Cup given its poor human rights record. It got the nod over Australia due to shady dealings within the former Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) administration under Sepp Blatter. 

Corruption seems to be endemic in the Middle East. A few years ago, I sat next to a Singapore construction engineer in business class on a flight from Doha to London. 

His company had a big contract in Qatar. I asked him about the competition to get the contract. He told me that his company had approached a local fixer and been told what they had to pay to secure the contract. He said their bid won, even though it was probably not the lowest. 

When I was working at Macquarie University, we were trying for a multi-million-dollar contract to provide a master’s program in one of the other Gulf states. We were told that we had to employ a local “facilitator” for $US100,000 a year to help deliver the program. Macquarie University management somewhat naively said it could provide its own facilitator. Needless to say, the contract went to another Australian university that employed the local facilitator. 

Australian companies are at a major disadvantage operating in such environments. Foreign bribery is an offence under Australian legislation for both individuals and bodies corporate. 

If convicted, individuals can face up to 10 years’ imprisonment, and/or a fine of not more than $1.7 million. This means they can only compete lawfully in corrupt countries if they provide quotes that are so low the recipient can’t afford not to accept them. 

Meanwhile, our competitors, including our close allies, will do what it takes to win lucrative overseas contracts. 

Anyway, to return to the beautiful game. Football (soccer) was first played in 19th century England but is now the world’s most popular sport. FIFA governs the international game.

There are an estimated 250 million players active in more than 200 countries. The most prestigious international competitions are the four-yearly men’s and women’s FIFA World Cups. The men’s FIFA World Cup is the most-viewed sporting event in the world, surpassing the Olympic Games. 

While some may look down on soccer as a “working class” game, earnings for the top players are the highest of any sport: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, two ageing legendary soccer stars, will earn $US130 and $US115 million respectively this year. 

French player Kylian Mbappé, aged 23, will collect $US110 million. The only other athlete to earn over $US100 million this year will be basketballer LeBron James. 

I will close with some insightful British observations about soccer: 

• “I don’t know much about football. I know what a goal is, which is surely the main thing about football” – Victoria Beckham, wife of footballer David Beckham. 
• “My doctor told me I should have a complete break from football, so I became manager of Wolves” – footballer/manager Tommy Docherty  (Docherty also promised to lift Wolves out of the Second Division. He did. Into the Third Division). 
• “An atheist is a person who watches a Liverpool versus Everton football match and doesn’t care who wins” – footballer/manager Bill Shankly. 
• When Glenn Hoddle was manager of Tottenham, he was telephoned by the police to tell him there was a big fire at Tottenham’s stadium. “Save the cups, please save the cups,” pleaded Hoddle. “Don’t worry,” said the policeman, “the fire hasn’t reached the canteen yet” – Anon. 
• “I think Charlie George was one of Arsenal’s all-time great players. A lot of people might not agree with that, but I personally do” – footballer Jimmy Greaves. 
• “He’s not Thierry Henry [a brilliant French player]… but not many people are” – football commentator Martin Tyler. 
• “You have to get your priorities right. Women are around all the time, but World Cups come only every four years” – footballer Peter Osgood. 
• “Argentina are the second-best team in the world, and there’s no higher praise than that” – footballer/manager Kevin Keegan. 
• “And now for the worst news of all. Gay men are getting interested in football. What a catastrophe. One became gay to get away from this sort of thing” – broadcaster Matthew Parris. 

Clive Williams is a Canberra columnist.