FC Blogbroeders

FC Blogbroeders is de community voor alle voetballiefhebbers van Nederland en mede-organisator van evenementen als @BallenopdeBerg #IndenBanvanAbe en @hargabal

[Thijs Zonneveld @thijszonneveld]

Over welk lesje hebben ze het bij de KNVB? Dat je je kop nóg dieper in het zand moet steken? Dat je het als bond primadeluxe moet vinden dat de sport te koop wordt aangeboden aan de hoogste bieder door een megalomane narcist?

[voetblah-mazuro @voetblah]

Het hele interview is ontluisterend, want ook @m_wijffelsAD en @sjoerdmossou zouden het liefst sport en politiek gescheiden houden. Al is het maar om hun snoepreisjes naar bananenrepublieken zoals Qatar, Amerika en Saoedi-Arabië te verzekeren.

[NooitMeerQatar2022 @CancelQatar2022]

En als beloning voor deze ‘opruiming’ heeft #SaoediArabië het #WK2034 toegewezen gekregen.

[FC Blogbroeders @FCBlogbroeders]

👇🧵

[NooitMeerQatar2022 @CancelQatar2022]

Iedere zichzelf respecterende columnist gaat los over de inderdaad walgelijke egotrip van #Infantino en #Trump tijdens de #WKloting. Wie er nog niet aan toe is gekomen, zal ongetwijfeld de komende maanden zijn/haar afschuw etaleren, wellicht zelfs oproepen om het #WK2026 te 👇

[NooitMeerQatar2022 @CancelQatar2022]

Ik zie nu overal berichten langskomen van mensen die hun afschuw uiten over de @FIFAcom en #Infantino en die zelfs oproepen om het #WK2026 te boycotten, terwijl de situatie jaren geleden al minstens zo dubieus was en wij hier en elders daar nadrukkelijk op wezen en actie voerden.

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

The Adoration of the Maga. A few thoughts. It all felt a step too far by Gianni Infantino. The award of the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize felt more to do with its president’s desire to please powerful politicians as much as Donald Trump’s love of such glitzy, expensive offerings of loyalty last seen in medieval courts.

It felt more about politics than sport, a risky game for Fifa to play whenever it wants to bring a national association into line for perceived interference by government in the future. The Trump trophy weakens Fifa statutes. It also distracted from the real trophy, the World Cup, and the group-stage draw, traditionally a celebration about bringing countries together. Infantino took his eye off the balls.

A football draw designed to work out who plays who and (eventually) where and when is not the time or place for such politics. Infantino wasn’t speaking for the world in bestowing the Peace Prize, as he claimed. So presumptuous. So out of touch. Many probably agree that Trump has been a force for good in geopolitics, some might disagree. Most would probably feel such decisions should be left to experienced experts like the Nobel Committee and, please, can we get on with a football draw.

It’s spectacularly naïve or simply arrogant for Fifa to enter such non-football areas. It feels more and more that this was as much an Infantino initiative as Fifa’s. Infantino was supposed to drain the swamp when he arrived at Fifa in 2016 in the wake of assorted corruption scandals bedevilling the governing body of world football. How fitting that the nadir of Infantino’s propensity for self-aggrandisement as leader of what’s supposed to be a team game came in Washington. It was there that Trump promised to transform politics with his “drain the swamp” rhetoric, also in 2016.

The selfie moment was particularly cringe-worthy. Infantino forgets that football is the star of the show, not a 55-year lawyer. A senior football executive, who’s been at the heart of the English and European game for more than 20 years, messaged me during the drawn-out draw with his verdict on Infantino. “I feel revulsion, anger, shame, disgust – how has our sport been taken over by a Swiss ***** and turned into a total travesty???” He also pointed out that ensuring the leaders of USA, Mexico and Canada each somehow pulled out their own country’s name was not a good look for a draw based on chance.

Great for the cameras, though. Flash, bang, wallop, what a picture of Infantino's priorities. And who gets the next FIFA Peace Prize? And wouldn't Infantino have gained more respect had he used the money for the Trump trophy to subsidise excessive ticket costs? He's lost sight of what should be the real priorities for the leader of football. The game.

It's sad, really. Many sensible people work at Fifa, passionate about the game not their own ego, but it's alarming what happens to the leadership when they take power there. Even the great football manager Arsene Wenger has changed since becoming Chief of Global Football Development at Fifa. He now campaigns for more games, backing the expanded World Cup, which he would have railed against as a widely-admired, free-thinking club manager, fiercely protective of his players' well-being. "I believe that 48 teams is the right number." Arsene, just listen to yourself.

Many fans probably won’t lose much sleep that Wenger dances to Fifa's tune or that Infantino cosies up to Trump, Aramco and co. Some probably think Fifa’s a video game. Most just can’t wait for the football. The game’s about Mbappe and Messi, Haaland and Salah, Kane and Dembele, not Infantino and Trump.

The game’s about the Tartan Army, the brilliant Mexican following, the ever-hopeful English, the mobile carnival of Brazilians and the millions of other fans flocking to venue cities next summer, only a third with tickets. The USA is prepared for the party. I covered USA 94 and you couldn’t really tell there was a tournament on, certainly where I was in Detroit, Chicago and DC. You will this time, also in Canada. Mexico's total immersion was never in doubt given their passion for the game.

Infantino should remember this. He runs a great football organisation, not a political organisation. He needs to re-focus. Fifa is undeniably a force for good in many countries. The Fifa Foundation runs a new community programme that supports 154,924 people in 54 nations. Its new Digital Education Programme works on computer literacy amongst disadvantaged groups, helping them into the workplace. It’s easy to say it’s all about Infantino (Foundation board president), soft power and ensuring he keeps countries onside, voting for him, but the Foundation undeniably changes lives.

Infantino needs to look at his Adoration of the Maga and remember what he should be doing for football: serving it, not himself. #FIFAWorldCup.

[Timothy Snyder @TimothyDSnyder]

I love soccer and I remember each World Cup with great intensity and always so much look forward to the next. But FIFA that was disgusting, even more disgusting than usual, and now I just can’t. And won’t.

[amnestypress @amnestypress]

As the World Cup 2026 approaches, @FIFAcom needs to match its lofty rhetoric on rights with concrete action, a coalition of human rights organizations, trade unions and fans groups, including @amnesty, @hrw and @Sport_Rights, said today.

https://t.co/oZRgZ1QX6Y

[Jolan @BaJoDiToCo]

Dit is Dion, mijn Dion. Zwaar verstandelijk gehandicapt. Vaak uitgelachen en belachelijk gemaakt op straat in onze maatschappij. 3 december Wereld Gehandicapten Dag. Maak Dion en alle anderen zichtbaar door dit bericht zoveel mogelijk te delen!!
💛🖤
#GehandicaptKind
#ZieOns

[Paul Peeters @palpeet]

Waarom is hier geen ophef over?

[Staantribune @Staantribune]

In #Heemskerk zijn de kermis en de daarbij horende feestweek heilig. De bekerwedstrijd tussen @ado20 en @RBCvoetbal moest zelfs wijken naar een andere plaats. “We hebben de competitieleider alvast gevraagd of we volgend jaar een uitwedstrijd kunnen krijgen.” Lees verder ➡️ https://t.co/uqmMpfjIut

[Meindert Talma @meinderttalma]

Vandaag, 40 jaar geleden, overleed Abe Lenstra: https://t.co/puO3dzBHga

[Simon Kuper @KuperSimon]

Very chuffed to get my hands on a copy of my book World Cup Fever - a story of the tournament told through my own nine World Cups. It's out in English and Dutch in early October, but you can already preorder it, e.g. here https://t.co/hWnRozMV20

[Staantribune @Staantribune]

Volgende week vrijdag verschijnt de nieuwe Staantribune! Wil je deze editie automatisch ontvangen? Sluit dan eindelijk eens een abonnement af! Dat is al mogelijk vanaf slechts €28.

Naast de magazines ontvang je verder:
✈️ kortingen bij onze samenwerkingspartners
📕 eventueel een leuk boek als welkomstgeschenk

Daarnaast bespaar je ook op de verzendkosten.

ℹ️ https://t.co/CFtzHsRHq7!

[voetblah-mazuro @voetblah]

Over de erfenis van het bondscoachschap van #AndriesJonker kunnen we kort zijn: er is onder zijn bewind geen enkele progressie geboekt door de @oranjevrouwen Sterker nog: het spelniveau is alleen maar achteruit gekacheld. #ENGNED #EKVrouwen

[HRM @H_R_Matter]

🔔#SaudiArabia uses #sportswashing by hosting major events to improve its international image while masking severe human rights abuses.
Recent @amnesty reports reveal a sharp rise in drug-related offenses, highlighting growing social & legal repression within the kingdom.
These events serve as a distraction from Saudi’s ongoing crackdown & systemic violations.
https://t.co/IPenNPtLNr

[voetblah-mazuro @voetblah]

Het grote verschil tussen de Spaanse voetbalvrouwen en vrijwel alle andere ploegen is dat het er bij #Spanje zo natuurlijk en makkelijk uitziet. Het zijn rasvoetbalsters en alleen in tempo en fysiek doen ze (nog) onder voor mannelijke voetballers. #ESPBEL #spabel #EKVrouwen

[NooitMeerQatar2022 @CancelQatar2022]

Nee, #MarkMisérus en de ⁦@volkskrant⁩, er is en was maar één #WKvandeWaanzin en dat is het #WKQatar2022!! Ook al is dit #WKvoorclubs eveneens een gotspe.

[voetblah-mazuro @voetblah]

Hoe #AntonGaaei zijn demonen overwon en volwassen werd bij ⁦@AFCAjax⁩ Inclusief een door Anton zelf erkende rol van zijn #mentalcoach, zoonlief #BramMeurs Waarvan akte. https://t.co/uZOApRQSKz