It is often regarded as 'the greatest show on earth' but FIFA's decision to award the World Cup in 2018 and 2022 to Russia and Qatar respectively has laid this claim bare.
Amidst the predictably ritual diatribe of the white van man demographic about how 'we was robbed', equally knee-jerking radio presenters offered rapid retractions on sour grape claims that Sepp Blatter and co. were corrupt. But their outpouring of anger was not justified.
World sports' governing bodies have long been susceptible to secret handshakes and FIFA appears to be up there with the worst of them as the findings of the investigation of the BBC's Panorama programme, aired earlier this week, testified.
Critics have been quick to lay the blame of England's failure to host the 2018 tournament squarely at the feet of the Sunday Times and Andrew Jennings' showcasing of journalistic discretion by harrassing executive committee members from the gatepost of swanky hotels.
But why are the media being forced to cop the blame for the powers-that-be throwing £15million at a bid that was always going to falter and not just due to its inability to toss a few clandestine brown envelopes the way of Blatter and Concacaf chief Jack Warner?
Any true football fans who tuned in to see Thursday's announcement will not have felt any resonance with the pow-wow of figureheads masquerading as the Football Association's finest in Zurich and regardless of alleged underhand dealings, FIFA saw right through them too.
Andy Anson and the 'Three Lions', as they were dubbed in some quarters of the tabloid press, thought they could saunter into the centre of Switzerland, bare some teeth, fawn over a few dignitaries and return football to its spiritual home. The reality was quite the opposite.
Russia were able to call on Andrei Arshavin as their finest export to endorse the bid along with Roman Abramovich. England offered up David Beckham, a continuing beacon of the spiralling gross commercialism that is continuing to destroy the so-called 'beautiful game'.
He is not alone in this of course as certain players currently residing in the North West are also guilty of this, but it was the circus that is Brand Beckham that set the benchmark.
David Cameron and the soon to be wed Prince William - the other two thirds of this ill-fated trio - are both fully paid-up members of the Etonian brigade which is part of the corporate gravy train that threatened to see the 2018 tournament suffer a similiar fate to Euro '96.
It wasn't alleged corruption that killed England's bid, although its influence should not be discounted, but their arrogant belief that the king-makers would 'Back the Bid' and bring football home, providing the Empire with one final hurrah before the sun set for good.
If anything, this was FIFA giving the cocksure Team England a taste of their own medicine and it is one they cannot stomach.
Giant Spectacular Waste of Money
(Sun 22/04)
The End of the World
(Sun 10/07)
A Taste of Their Own Medicine
(Sat 04/12)
A Dangerous Precedent
(Tue 23/11)
...And the Circus Leaves Town
(Sat 11/09)
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