FIFA scandal casts long shadow over Women's World Cup
WINNIPEG, Manitoba
If the first FIFA press conference for the 2015 Women's World Cup was any indication, the scandal currently enveloping Sepp Blatter and FIFA is going to cast a long shadow over this tournament.
Case in point: It took only two questions from the international media to put Victor Montagliani, president of the Canadian Soccer Association, on the spot. Summing up the air of international suspicion, Montagliani was asked: "Were bribes paid by Canada to host this tournament?"
"This World Cup?" Montagliani said. "No. Absolutely not."
On it went like this for the next 40 minutes, even as FIFA spokeswoman Ségolène Valentin tried — in vain — to get journalists to focus on the Women's World Cup, not the downfall of FIFA's kingpins amidst an emerging picture of widespread corruption.
"Can we start on women's football?" FIFA officials begged, to no avail.
Maybe it's a blessing. Maybe it's a curse. The attention on international women's soccer this June will be viewed through the prism of FIFA's corruption, but at least it will give the women another opportunity to plead their case. After all, this particular World Cup began with questions about equality.
While the women have all attempted to steer clear of FIFA's historic fall, their valor will be tested the minute the games start. The games kick off Saturday amidst reports that the artificial turf the players sued over may be as terrible as they anticipated.
The word is that the newly replaced carpet at BC Place is less than impressive. Reports from a goal line technology press conference at BC Place say that FIFA refused to bounce the ball on the pitch. This comes after the Vancouver Whitecaps played an MLS game on the "new" BC Place field this week. They said it was terrible, prone to sending balls skittering and with an inconsistent bounce.
There is also a report that the Edmonton stadium carpet was not replaced but "upgraded," though FIFA has not explained what that means.
Wonderful, eh?
It was less than a month ago that Abby Wambach, U.S. striker and the all-time leading international goal-scorer male or female, let it fly that she and her fellow athletes felt slapped in the face after FIFA officials blithely swatted away a proposal by Scotts Lawn Care company to install natural grass on all six Women's World Cup venues.
And right now, on the eve of the 2015 Women's World Cup, pictures of quarter-million-dollar bribery checks paid by FIFA for votes, silence and numerous other corrupt actions are blowing up the Internet, to say nothing of the millions in dodgy transfers identified by the Department of Justice in their indictments, or the number of World Cups under investigation or suspicion (For those keeping count, that number is now up to five, with the 2014 World Cup the latest under the microscope). The hits just keep on coming for FIFA, and the bleeding can't be contained.
"Women can bring light to the sport," Montagniani said, almost plaintively, but there's no sense the women here are eager to provide safe cover for the FIFA overlords. They are here to play, and to win, but to distract from scandal? No.
It's now too late to swap turf for grass, but given the current odorous climate of international soccer, the implosion in Zurich is going to make it very tough for Wambach or any of the other top soccer players in the world to stick to their promise to say nothing more about FIFA and this turf fiasco.
Just listen to the U.S. players, who despite saying they would not let the turf be a distraction for them are still hammering their points home.
"Simply put, it's the biggest competition that you can play in as an international footballer. That's it. And obviously, turf is a second-class surface. If it wasn't, then all men's teams would play on turf," U.S. midfielder Megan Rapinoe told Bleacher Report, adding: "I think for us, just to know the amount of money FIFA makes every year, and the amount of money they made off the men's World Cup — and I think they'll make money off our World Cup — to say it's not plausible to put grass in?"
Canadian-born U.S. striker Sydney Leroux, who shies away from no contact, also continues to press the issue.
"When it comes to a World Cup, there is no adjusting your game. There is no turning back wishing you made that slide tackle but you can't because it's turf. We've moved past this turf issue. Obviously we came in very strong but we lost. But our voice was heard and I hope it never happens again. I hope women never have to play on turf again," Leroux told the New York Daily News.
The women have waited four years for this chance to show off how far women's soccer has come since Germany 2011. There is an expanded field of 24 teams. There is an unprecedented television coverage in American prime time. There is parity among many the top world teams and dozens of spectacular athletes ready to shine.
On the eve of the kickoff of this 2015 Women's World Cup, what this tournament will bring and what it will mean is a narrative still being crafted. But watch and listen closely. In a matter of days, if not hours, women's international soccer is going be hoisted onto the world's stage and, given all the issues and conditions, the women are not going to squander their moment.
FIFA hasn't heard the last from them, either.
