Well if I were a betting man my predictions about the Word Cup, Russia, Qatar and England not surviving the first round would have made me a decent penny.
The real scandal is not so much Russia getting the 2018 finals. Russia has a long football history, hasn't had the World Cup and is a major nation - no reason it shouldn't have won. There will be issues - the time zones, the need to build stadia, the lack of a free press and how it deals with racism in football are all genuine concerns - but hopefully the World Cup will act as a catalyst in these areas.
The real scandal is Qatar getting the final in 2022. It has no football history, is the size of Yorkshire, doesn't have a free press and has very 'interesting' attitudes towards gay rights, women and alcohol, never mind the heat. The scandal is that Australia, a nation that has put on numerous sporting events and successful Olympic games, got one vote. Qatar scored lowest on the technical aspects, but won. England, which scored highest on its technical bid, got two votes and fell at the first step.
The acting FA chairman, Roger Burden, has withdrawn his application for the permanent post as he'd have to deal with people he didn't trust. I understand his sentiment but don't think that's the answer. Be bold - campaign for open voting, not secret ballots, publish minutes or transcripts of all meetings you have with FIFA officials whether they like it or not - shine the spotlight don't retreat.
It's only through transparency that reform will happen. It won't be easy - but this may be FIFA's 'Salt Lake City' moment. There could be momentum here with the USA, Japan and Australia equally annoyed. Campaign vigorously for reform and do it from within FIFA - people are waking up to just how bad FIFA is - now is the time.
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