the world's sport

WORLD CUP IN FOUR DAYS.

And accompanying World Cup drama, of course.

John Oliver sums it up well:

Here are some fascinating reads on how widely pervasive match fixing is in international football, plus accusations of FIFA accepting bribes, and generally the hot mess that is the most beautiful game alive:

• Fixed Soccer Matches Cast Shadow Over World Cup
  A New York Times investigation of match fixing ahead of the last World Cup gives an unusually detailed look at the ease with which professional gamblers can fix matches.



• Inside the Fixing: How a Gang Battered Soccer’s Frail Integrity
  A New York Times investigation of match fixing ahead of the 2010 World Cup gives an unusually detailed look at the ease with which professional gamblers can fix matches.



• Qatar denies World Cup bribery allegations
  Newspaper accuses country of gaining rights to host the 2022 tournament after paying $5m of bribes to FIFA members.

All told, I am still really excited for the tournament -- and I hope Twitter does those country flags again with hashtags! -- but, damn, I knew there was corruption, but I had no idea it was quite this widespread and quite so ingrained. Soccernomics, I suppose.