Reviewing the year’s top sports business stories out of Europe is like summarizing everything that’s wrong within the industry. This year included everything from corruption and bribery, to cover-ups, doping scandals and security threats. We have to start where we left off in ’14, with FIFA. Football’s world governing body, which has been under fire since awarding the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively, careened into complete turmoil when on the morning of May 27 seven FIFA officials were arrested in Zurich, Switzerland before the start of the 65th FIFA Congress. The number of people charged by U.S. prosecutors increased to 41 by year’s end. Charges include bribery, corruption and money laundering. The raid, however, did not keep under-fire President Sepp Blatter from getting re-elected only two days later. Blatter, who together with UEFA President Michel Platini received an eight-year ban from FIFA's ethics committee for unethical behavior, announced his resignation four days after the election while vehemently denying any wrongdoing. The future of FIFA is still up in the air and whether a new president, who will be elected on Feb. 26, can eradicate a flawed system remains to be seen. To break up the bad news that will follow, here is something a little more positive. Let’s talk about F1. No joke. F1 created some positive business headlines in ’15 after dealing with Bernie Ecclestone’s bribery case in ’14. The series garnered interest from Qatari and Chinese investors to back an $8.5B takeover bid spearheaded by Miami Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross. It would be a substantial return on investment for current owners CVC Capital, which bought the racing series for $2B back in ’06. Of course there are still issues within F1 regarding money distribution, engine costs and unequal treatment of teams, but to reference Monty Python’s Eric Idle, “always look on the bright side of life.”
TARNISHED REPUTATION: A documentary by German public broadcasters ARD/WDR shed light on doping within athletics and turned the sport on its head. The program accused Russia and Kenya’s athletics federations of systematic doping and the IAAF of covering it up. Similar to the FIFA case, initial accusations have been broadened and now include corruption and bribery. Newly elected IAAF President Sebastian Coe, who is tasked with cleaning up the sport, has also received scrutiny over his links to Nike. While the FIFA and IAAF scandals have caused havoc within both sports, it was nothing compared to the tragic event that unfolded on the eve of Nov. 13 in Paris. Terrorists attacked the French capital and killed 130 people. One of their targets was the Stade de France, which hosted an int'l friendly between France and Germany's national football teams that night. While nobody inside the stadium was hurt, it showed the vulnerability of sporting events and other so-called soft targets. Days after the attack, security threats forced the cancellation of games in Belgium and Germany. Governing bodies and leagues in Europe and around the world examined their security plans in order to be prepared for this new threat.
TAKING ON THE THREAT: Looking at next year’s two biggest sporting events, Euro 2016 and the Rio Olympics, security will certainly remain at the forefront of the agenda. Given Europe’s current refugee crisis and the fact that three European cities have submitted bids to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, there is the potential danger that sporting events will soon lose the open and carefree atmosphere that has made them a space for greatness and peace. Hamburg’s residents have already voiced their resistance and turned down a potential Olympic bid in a public referendum. Despite all the dangers and high costs that come with Olympic Games, it remains the only event where the whole world comes together and sets aside its differences, even if it’s just for 16 days. It is times like these that remind one of the words of former IOC Chair Avery Brundage, who in the darkest hour of modern Olympic history said, "The Games must go on."
