Chris O’Sullivan: The FBI are actually uh are- doing the world a favour.

José Cruz: A big favour. Uh I’d I’d uh, you you look at all of the things that have happened around FIFA. Uh I mean people say the Olympics is scandalous, but FIFA itself is just ridiculous. I mean just look at all those- the stadiums that they built, the corruption that went through, the Brazilian government through FIFA, through the Brazilian construction companies, uh that created those those beautiful, you know, 60,000 seat stadiums in the middle of the Amazon. What the- These people knew that they could get away with that, you know.

Chris: Yeah yeah. Yeah they’ve got away with it for too long I think, and it just took the FBI finally to do something about it. It’s actually scandalous that other countries were not willing to get involved and do the right thing. In other words they should have investigated themselves. Why is it only the Americans doing it, you know.

José: Well that’s because I think the American Football Association is not such a big part of the psychology of the country. I me- America doesn’t really like soccer as much as other countries love football. And and also too, It was the Americans that were miffed I think about the fact that America was was uh, was. Um what’s the word I’m looking for? Was not given a World Cup in 2024 or something.

Chris: It would have been 2022.

José: 2022? OK. And also too there’s a rumour that they want to shake FIFA down so that the whole organization is in tatters In time for the Russian World Cup.

Chris: Yeah they call it a candidate city, actually. So maybe America had a can-candidate city in the the bid- bidding process. Australia too actually. (Mm-hmm) But when they gave it to- I think Russia- I don’t know if Russia- probably was the same as Qatar. But for me Russia was a possibility given the fact that it never hosted the games the World- the World Cup. (Mm-hmm) And uh, being such a large country maybe the infrastructure, it would have been a benefit. But there are such political worries with Russia now and especially Putin (Mm-hmm) and what he’s been doing (Mm-hmm) with, you know he’s been eyeing up the Baltic states now after Ukraine. And the guy’s basically just a, a demon.

José: Ha ha (You know) Just you know you know like uh- yeah.

Chris: So, so you you have to say there’s probably a lot of corruption there In them getting the bid. And then giving it to Qatar where it’s 50 degrees (Oh man) in summer and playing- and expecting people to go to the country and play and watch- And the players, I mean- You’re actually putting players at risk in that heat. And they’re going to build eight stadiums in Qatar and when after the games, the idea was to knock down the stadiums, and to send all eight stadiums to Africa. Now I’m sorry…

José: I never heard about that.

Chris: Oh that is the plan. (What?) That’s crazy.

José: “Send” them? Like, um “we’re going to pick up this stadium put it on a barge in pieces and send it to Africa?” (Yeah) Really?

Chris: Yeah. (Ha ha) I mean Africa they- you know they need food, they need infrastructure, they need education, they need medicine. They don’t need eight brilliantly built fantastic stadiums which doesn’t serve any purpose to anyone. (Do you remember that- ) Apart from- who wants to play soccer- those people there.

José: Do you remember that stadium that they built out in the middle of the Amazon? Do you know what it’s doing right now?

Chris: It was a place called Manasus?

José: Manaus. Yeah (Manaus) Do you know what that stadium’s doing right now?

Chris: Rotting away?

José: They paved the entire ground, and now it’s a parking lot for a bus company.

Chris: Ha ha.