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The Importance of Sport (NEW CONCEPTS)
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Hatty
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You're right, Wile, so long as the deals are done in, say, the Cayman Islands. But when New York is preferred to the Guatemalan jungle for doing business, there are stricter regulations. It's a different ball game in the US of A.
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Mick Harper
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The AE position on corruption is perfectly clear: we have no fixed position. That is the AE position on most things. I nearly said all things but that would be a fixed position. As I pointed out with Mayor Daley Syndrome, corrupt people can be good for you even though there is no doubt that corruption is always per se an inefficiency.

Wiley makes the important point that a world body has to play by world rules and that means all sorts. But it was not always thus. Most world bodies were originally set up by Anglo-French-American sporting elites which took the view that world bodies should play by the rules of Anglo-French-American sporting elites.

But of course Applied Epistemological Rules rule and the fact of the matter is that the Anglo-French-American model worked a treat for the first several decades and the UN General Assembly model (everyone's vote counts the same) worked well for the next several decades. And now something else may be required.
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Mick Harper
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The granddaddy of all world sporting bodies provides some important lessons. The first modern international sporting contest is generally reckoned to be The America's Cup of 1851. This was and for many years remained a series of yachting races between the USA and Britain. It was, par excellence, run on patrician 'British' sporting principles mainly because only patricians could afford to take part.

The 'world body' was whichever yacht club that happened to have won the last race and since from 1851 until 1970 that was always the New York Yacht Club, an entirely patrician organisation, the event meandered on, fairly conducted but of limited interest. Then it was thrown open (to millionaires of any nationality) and for a brief time it was a true and exciting 'world event'.

But because there was no world body, and the rules continued to be vested in whoever last won it, and 'whoever last won it' meant eventually some very un-patrician type would win it, and therefore would rig the rules to suit themselves, the whole thing quickly petered out. As an exciting world event that is, it continues as a millionaires' private plaything even now. But a real opportunity was missed.

People always complained about the cost and therefore the exclusivity of the America's Cup but this is like complaining about the cost and exclusivity of opera. One shrugs, one accepts that certain things cost a bundle. It doesn't mean a lack of excitement and engagement. Remember, as footballers become richer and richer millionaire-arseholes, so the football becomes more and more enjoyable.
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Hatty
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In: Berkshire
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I asked my son who should be Fifa president and he said 'David Gill'.
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Chad


In: Ramsbottom
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He's a very sensible lad... that son of yours.
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Boreades


In: finity and beyond
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Are we presuming David Gill is not one of the guilty-until-proved-innocent? Because he's British?
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Hatty
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My son (and the papers) say Gill refused to take up his position as Fifa vice-president so long as Blatter was there.
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Mick Harper
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In other words he didn't want a bigger snout at the trough.
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Mick Harper
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A great deal of the corruption appears to centre on the awarding of international tournaments. At present there is World Under-21 tournament going on in the south of France and a World Under-20 tournament going on in New Zealand. I predict a tournament for the Under 20-and-a-half's will soon be inaugurated.
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Mick Harper
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Spot The Unintended Consequence No 338

City will make "an imminent" bid for Liverpool midfielder Raheem Sterling, 20, as they look to boost the "home-grown" quota of players in their Champions League squad for next season. (Manchester Evening News)

Well, can you?
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Chad


In: Ramsbottom
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Well I can spot the 337 more obvious ones... but I'm buggered if I can spot the elusive No 338.
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Mick Harper
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Geronimo! I will wait a little longer to see if there is anybody in the world that matches my incredible insight. If the Great Chad fails, the others cannot be far behind.
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Wile E. Coyote


In: Arizona
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Wait I have it, Johnny Foreigner is going to be digging up any sort of British connection....

You know what I mean, great granny had a "quicky" with Viscount Battersby-Boothroid-Smyth, whilst working on his slave plantation.

All to play for Man United and err...then get roundly slaughtered by Barca.

Good work.
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Mick Harper
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Chad was closer.
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Mick Harper
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What is the intended consequence? If every Premiership club has to have a minimum number of home-grown players in its 25-man squad (currently they need have none) then the development of home-grown players will be encouraged. But let us look at what will actually happen.

Raheem Sterling currently plays week in/week out in the Premiership for Liverpool. When he is transferred to Man City he will probably not be a first team regular but will be a squad player ie he will be a substitute and only a starting player to cover injuries and for the less important fixtures, which will not include UEFA Cup games. Clearly under this regime his development is unlikely to be enhanced.

But why are Man City prepared to pay 30 million for a mere squad player? Because they have to! Remember, they need to fill their quota of local players but that does not mean bad players. On the contrary, it means the best players they can afford because squad players have to play for a certain amount of time and therefore must still be of the highest standard available. Man City and Chelsea (and Man U and Arsenal to a lesser extent) can afford to pay more for Raheem Sterling as a squad player than lesser teams will pay for him as a regular starter.

You can confirm this for yourself just by looking at the bench of these teams now when they play other teams. Every one of the Top Four team's substitutes would be starters for the other team.

If you watched England play Ireland you might have noticed that the entire team (even Rooney if sentiment is set aside -- Hart is a special case) would fall into the category of “excellent players but not quite good enough to be automatic first team choices for any of the four UEFA regulars". In fact Stirling himself is the most likely to be a Top Four regular. None of the others would. Not even Wilshire. So gradually all these players – or rather all the players of their calibre coming along – will gradually end up as squad players for the Big Four.

Remember, you read it here first -- in the near future no England player will be playing regularly in the Premiership. Of course the solution is to insist that a quota of local players are in the starting line-up but that would be comfortably vetoed by the money-men. Bale is the only local player that qualifies for automatic Big Four selection. Alas.
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