Thoughts about football, capitalism and corruption

Yesterday I watched the Hungarian Under 20 team being soundly beaten by Nigeria. It was a good game, but the better team won. While the corruption of FIFA is an ongoing news to the point of tedium the FIFA Under 20 competition is run very successfully in New Zealand, providing entertaining football and an opportunity for the stars of the future to shine. That the FIFA executives are corrupt is no news and hardly surprising. How could FIFA award the World Cup venue to Qatar, a country with no footballing tradition, more suited to camel racing? There is a lot of money at stake in world football, and the temptation to profit from this and abuse the system is too tempting. This, after all is what capitalism is all about; exploit financial opportunities for your own personal; benefit. And seeing these lovely young men from Hungary struggle against the Nigerians made me think of the glory days of Hungarian footfall, and how Hungarian football declined over the years. Under communism, excellence, funded by the state, mattered, be it excellence in sports or the arts. Once communism collapsed there was no business case for supporting the arts or sport. No one made money from it. The great football clubs ran out of money, the stadiums were run down and the quest for excellence was lost. This is true not only of Hungarian football, but also of the football of other footballing nations. England can hardly put together a credible national team, even if its football competition is world renowned. It is cheaper to buy hired players from all parts of the world than to create an environment where your own young players can flourish and grow. Arsenal Manchester United, Manchester City are some of the most glamorous clubs in the world, but there is hardly an Englishman playing for any of these. And Ferencvaros, once the breeding ground of some of the greatest footballers, can now scarcely foot the bill to stay in a top competition.