Netral Aja

We must remember that corruption in the AFC goes much deeper than Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, terrible officiating decisions, or any individual person. These are deeply intertwined, structural issues, which have long favored the wealthy gulf states. To identify the core issues: Power in the AFC is concentrated in the Gulf: President: Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa🇧🇭 Senior Vice President: Yasser Al-Misehal🇸🇦 Competitions Committee Chair: Hani Ballan 🇶🇦 Finance Committee Chair: Adel Ezzat 🇸🇦 Marketing Committee Members: Majority from Qatar, Saudi, and UAE 🇶🇦🇸🇦🇦🇪 - Financially, the AFC relies primarily, overwhelmingly, on Gulf sponsored corporations: beIN Media Group🇶🇦 Saudi Aramco🇸🇦 Qatar Airways🇶🇦 Emirates Airline🇦🇪 QatarEnergy🇶🇦 Etihad Airways🇦🇪 - Decisions in the AFC are opaque. When the confederation decides that Saudi Arabia🇸🇦 and Qatar🇶🇦 will host the 4th round of qualifying, for example, and given extra days of rest, no explanation is given. The decision making process is not explained, because, of course, no explanation is needed. We all know why bias leans toward the gulf, but it does not change anything. The decision is made behind closed-doors, and then it is final. - Gulf Nations possess unmatched infrastructure - world-class stadiums, hotels, and logistics. This allows the AFC and FIFA to justify repeatedly granting them hosting rights, such as: 2019 Asian Cup🇦🇪 2022 World Cup🇶🇦 2023 Asian Cup🇶🇦 2027 Asian Cup🇸🇦 2034 World Cup🇸🇦 Countless more AFC club tournaments, youth tournaments, and, as we just mentioned, even the 4th round of World Cup qualifying. - FIFA: FIFA presidents, from Sepp Blatter to Gianni Infantino, have cultivated close ties with Gulf leadership. Gulf states provide immeasurable wealth to FIFA, the same way they provide wealth to the AFC, so a healthy relationship between FIFA and the Gulf is seen as not only preferable, but necessary. The Gulf offers what FIFA leadership desires most: Politically safe, Western-friendly, media-ready nations, which they can exchange for votes in re-election campaigns, and all the obvious wealth incentives. - So, what happens now? As of yesterday, rumors have spread out of Japan that they are looking for an exit strategy, citing Qatari corruption as the main reason. If Japan🇯🇵 go, many in the East will follow, and you can't blame them. Much to come...