Regular listeners may have noticed that we tend to avoid speaking about politics and current affairs. After all, the aim of this podcast is to help you improve your English, not to complain about all the bad things that happen in the world. However, something happened recently during the 2026 World Cup that made us want to turn on our microphones and vent our frustration.
But we haven’t forgotten you because you’ll learn lots of vocabulary connected to corruption in sport and a little about the history of the World Cup.
Voice message from Ezequiel
21st Century slang
New words that have recently become common in English https://inglespodcast.com/600
Rizz – Charisma or charm, especially in romantic contexts. “He’s got mad rizz—everyone’s into him.”
Cook/cooking – Doing something very well
“Let him cook.” = Let him continue; he’s doing something good.
“She’s really cooking today.” = She’s doing an excellent job.
“The team is cooking.” = The team is performing very well.
Voice message from Esteban from Argentina
Football: https://inglespodcast.com/330
Football, “the beautiful game”, was invented in English England in 1863 when The Football Association established the official rules.
The word “soccer” originated in 19th-century England as a slang abbreviation of “Association Football”.
To distinguish it from “Rugby Football”, British university students coined the term by shortening “Association” to “Assoc.” and adding the “-er” suffix.
The World Cup
The World Cup is held every four years.
The first World Cup took place in 1930 in Uruguay, (who won the first tournament), and only 13 teams participated. The current 2026 World Cup started with 48 teams. Do you think that’s too many?
England has only won the World Cup once, in 1966. Who has won the World Cup the most number of times?
1st) Brazil – 5 titles
2nd) Germany – 4 titles
2nd) Italy – 4 titles
4th) Argentina – 3 titles
5th) France – 2 titles
5th) Uruguay – 2 titles
7th) England – 1 title
7th) Spain – 1 title
The World Cup trophy is made of 18-carat gold.
Before 1974, FIFA awarded the Jules Rimet Trophy. Named after the former FIFA President, it depicted the Greek goddess of victory, Nike.
Brazil won the tournament for the third time in 1970 and earned the right to keep the original trophy permanently. Tragically, it was stolen in 1983 and has never been recovered.
FIFA
FIFA was founded in 1904 and generates billions in revenue from television rights, sponsorship and marketing.
FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association, which is French for International Federation of Association Football.
French is used because FIFA was founded in 1904 in Paris, and French was the principal language of international diplomacy and many international organisations at the time.
FIFA’s Main Corruption Scandals
The 2015 FIFA Corruption Scandal (The Biggest in FIFA’s History)
This is the scandal that severely damaged FIFA’s reputation. What happened?
For decades, senior FIFA officials were accused of accepting bribes.
Companies allegedly paid millions of dollars to win marketing and television contracts.
Some officials were accused of selling their votes when deciding which countries would host the World Cup.
Investigators uncovered widespread money laundering, wire fraud and racketeering.
In May 2015, U.S. authorities indicted 14 football officials and sports executives. Several FIFA executives were arrested in Zurich just before the FIFA Congress. The investigation alleged more than US$150 million in bribes over a 24-year period.
Important vocabulary
bribery
kickbacks
money laundering
fraud
racketeering
abuse of power
lack of transparency
The 2018 and 2022 World Cup Bidding Controversy
Perhaps the most controversial decision in FIFA’s history was awarding the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar
Critics alleged that members of FIFA’s Executive Committee received financial incentives or political favours in exchange for their votes. Although various investigations produced mixed legal outcomes, the bidding process was widely criticised for lacking transparency and damaged FIFA’s credibility.
Human Rights and Qatar 2022
Although not a corruption case in the legal sense, Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup generated major controversy. Critics raised concerns about the treatment of migrant workers, labour conditions, LGBTQ+ prohibitions, restrictions on freedom of expression and there were allegations that political and financial influence affected the bidding process. Moreover, there was never that much interest in or history of football in Qatar before hosting the World Cup.
Ethics and Leadership Questions
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter was suspended from football after ethics investigations into financial dealings.
His successor, Gianni Infantino, promised to reform FIFA by introducing stricter ethics rules, greater financial transparency and independent oversight. Yet many experts openly accuse him of being the most corrupt President ever and he had already been referred to the ethics committee for the first time in 2016.
Let’s see how Infantino kept his promise in the 2026 World Cup!
The 2026 “Red Card” Controversy Involving Donald Trump
U.S. striker Folarin Balogun received a red card, which would normally result in an automatic one-match suspension. According to multiple reports, U.S. President Donald Trump contacted FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked that the decision be reviewed. President Trump himself confirmed this version! FIFA’s disciplinary committee then suspended Balogun’s automatic ban, allowing him to play in the next match. The USA went on to lose the game 4-1 against Belgium.
UEFA, the European football federation, and several former football figures criticised the decision, saying it risked damaging the integrity of the competition. FIFA denied that political pressure determined the outcome. But clearly there has been a big split regarding UEFA’s position and FIFA’s.
Discussion
Can sport ever be neutral? If international sport is worth billions of dollars and carries enormous political influence, isn’t corruption inevitable?
Should athletes express political opinions? In the UK, for instance, Gary Lineker, a former England footballing legend, has regularly courted controversy with his forthright opinions, often of an ethical nature. Many black American sportsmen and sportswomen have “taken the knee” – going down on one knee as a form of protest during the playing of the American national anthem or award ceremony.
Should countries boycott important sporting events? For example, in 1980 there was a US-led boycott, involving sixty-five nations, of the Moscow Olympic Games in the USSR. In retaliation, in 1984 the USSR and fourteen of its allies boycotted the Los Angeles Olympic Games in the USA. Bizarrely, three nations participated in both boycotts: Iran, Albania and Upper Volta (Burkina Faso)!
Spain were by far the favourites to win the first ever European Championship held in 1960, but General Franco refused to compete alongside the USSR in any events and boycotted it. Ironically, the USSR won it!
…and now it’s your turn to practise your English.
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In next week’s episode: How to deal with stress and beat anxiety in English exams
The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called ‘See You Later’