Tag: FIFA

FIFA Under Investigation By Switzerland, USA

Developing story

https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases.msg-id-57391.html

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has opened criminal proceedings against persons unknown on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering in connection with the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 Football World Cups. In the course of said proceedings, electronic data and documents were seized today at FIFA’s head office in Zurich.

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/nine-fifa-officials-and-five-corporate-executives-indicted-racketeering-conspiracy-and

Nine FIFA Officials and Five Corporate Executives Indicted for Racketeering Conspiracy and Corruption

The Defendants Include Two Current FIFA Vice Presidents and the Current and Former Presidents of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF); Seven Defendants Arrested Overseas; Guilty Pleas for Four Individual Defendants and Two Corporate Defendants Also Unsealed

The World Cup Reader

The World Cup is less than two weeks away and I’ve found myself neck-deep in compelling and insightful stories/articles about the event, the sport, and host nation Brazil.

I’m going to share my favorites in this post. Bookmark this link because I’ll be updating it with new stories as I come across them.

Fans Irate After ESPN2 Misses USMNT’s Opening Goal Against South Korea

The US national team started 2014 with a bang as forward Chris Wondolowski opened the match with a goal at the four-minute mark. Unfortunately, Team USA fans watching on ESPN2 missed it. The station continued to show the final minutes of college basketball match between Clemson and Florida State.

Seven minutes into the game and the station finally switched over. As you can expect, this didn’t sit too well with USMNT fans who watched the game on ESPN2.

https://twitter.com/lukeicejones/status/429745280268128257

https://twitter.com/deepblueseahors/status/429741056481964033

The game wasn’t a official FIFA matchday and not an incredibly important one in general besides it being a warm-up/team tweak for the World Cup. However, it’s a sad state of affairs at ESPN when a college basketball game is considered more important than a soccer game featuring the national team, especially in light of the team’s very successful 2013 campaign.

What does it mean when Spanish-language UniMas shows the same game from beginning to end when English-language ESPN doesn’t? This on top of the fact that ESPN/NBC lost viewers in its MLS coverage while UniMas actually gained viewers:

The Spanish-language audience on UniMas increased almost 6 percent from last year’s audience to 514,000 viewers, more than double what they were only three years ago on another Univision network, Galavision.

The numbers are consistent with the trend during the 2013 regular season. Univision reported that the average viewers on UniMas’ MLS regular-season broadcasts (223,000) topped those on ESPN2 (181,000).

Sports Business Daily had reported that the average viewership dropped 29 percent on ESPN/ESPN and 8 percent to 112,000 on NBCSN (which had benefited in 2012 from usually high viewerships due to lead-ins from its London Olympics coverage).

Courtesy Soccer America.

Selections From The FIFA Soccer 12 Soundtrack

Another year brings another FIFA game and, with it, another topnotch soundtrack! I picked a few of my favorite tracks from the game to share below. Check out the entire tracklist at FIFA soundtracks dot com. I meant to post this days ago but I got stuck sitting on the couch, posted in front of the tele playing the game demo. Whoops!

Le game!

ALL MANKIND – Break The Spell:

I get the feeling I’m going to hate this one eventually because every movie producer on the face of the earth will attach it to their Oscar-baiting trailer. I’ll enjoy it for the time being.

CHASE & STATUS – No Problem

A nightmare acid trip!

CSS – Hits Me Like A Rock

I wrote a little something about this video for Remezcla.

GRAFFITI6 – Stare Into The Sun

The Caucasian Gnarls Barkley.

THE JAPANESE POPSTARS – Let Go

For the record, these guys aren’t Japanese. They’re British. Also, this song features an appearance by Green Velvet. So, erm, yeah.

LA VIDA BOHEME – El Buen Salvaje

Here’s a hard rock band from Caracas, Venezuela. I love all the fuzzy distortion throughout the song.

PORTUGAL, THE MAN – Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now)

Psychedelic Indie/Rock via Wasilla, Alaska/Portland, Oregon. Watch and listen even if you hate male singers with high-pitched voices.

THE NAKED & FAMOUS – Punching In A Dream

This is a little band from New Zealand that’s gaining fame for its psychedelic, 80’s New Wave influenced dance tunes.

THE TING TINGS– Hands

When did Madonna, Blondie and Soft Cell get together?

THIEVERY CORPORATION – Stargazer

Grab a cigar, a glass full of brandy and turn the lights down.