Sports journalism and the FIFA scandal : personalization, co-optation, and investigation

The scandalous events surrounding the 65th Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Congress in Zurich in mid-2015 produced an enormous quantity of media coverage. While few have a deep level of knowledge of FIFA’s history or governance, this global story worked effectively as narrativized media characterization by often constructing a comic view of FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter. Although entertaining, this coverage mainly served to highlight the substantial failure of most of the news media, and especially of sports journalism, to deal seriously with the institutional politics of sport. This article analyses the media’s roles and responsibilities regarding sport as a key sociocultural institution and the media’s relationships with sports organizations, sportspeople, governments, commercial corporations, sport fans, and the wider citizenry. It considers the potential of sports communication and journalism education to change the dynamics of reporting everyday issues and eruptive scandals in sport. Ethical conduct in sport organizations and, particularly, in the hosting of mega sports events like the FIFA World Cup, should, it is argued, be addressed consistently by an inquiring and sceptical media. Above all, the media must beware of succumbing to the temptations of complacency and complicity in the games with which they are engaged.