Tucked away in our beautiful upper left corner of a country synonymous with caring less about soccer than most sports, Portland and Seattle proved the world that “footie” can and will be embrace. But I wondered as I sat in traffic on my way to dinner with friends, forgetting that there was a Sounders game that night (I know, I know, but the Memorial Day weekend had me off a day) if the FIFA indictments by the United States Justice Department would have any effect on Major League Soccer, and more importantly the incredible reputations these teams have had on building a soccer culture in America.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), whose home of England bore the sport so famously slighted by FIFA in its efforts to get a World Cup bid, featured our fandom back in 2013 with an article entitled Football fever hits the Pacific Northwest. The piece praises the success of these teams to the jubilant fans, noting that super fans like the Emerald City Supporters and other grassroots fan bases are so well organized that they’ve made experiencing a game a quintessential experience. Notably, two years ago (though this statistic likely hasn’t changed) the Sounders’ average home games reached attendance of 43,000, double that of the Mariners [baseball] (and greater than all but five of the teams in the English Premier League – including Chelsea). And the BBC credited Portland’s thirst for more sporting events to the great success of its beloved Timbers, whose matches are no less of a spectacle than those in Seattle.
After the Timbers were incorporated into the MLS in 2011, the rivalry of the MLS was born (though they had played against each other several times before as minor league teams). When the two teams played after the signing of Clint Dempsey to the Sounders, Seattle’s Centurylink Field had to sell standing-only tickets for the league’s biggest crowd in its history. The New York Times even did an expose on PNW soccer as the reason you should visit the area in its travel section.
But will any of this progress in soccer appreciation be undermined by the recent indictment of several FIFA officials under the unconscionable supervision of crooks and criminals? Well, probably not is the best answer I can give you.
As this odd spectacle unfolds, we are learning more about the fact that corruption was no stranger to the sport for over the past twenty years. According to The Guardian, the two domestic bodies most impacted by the developments are the North American Soccer League and the United States Soccer Federation. Aaron Davidson, whose company Traffic Sports features “heavily” in the accounts of bribes and kickbacks, was the “driving force” behind the creation of the NASL. He helped drive the split in the United Soccer Leagues (then the second tier of club competition). His company then took on ownership of several teams in the league. Many of the allegations against the company involve its relationship with CONCACAF, however, the regional governing body for soccer in the US, Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An alleged $110 million of planned bribes were connected to next year’s Copa America centenary tournament.
Jeffrey Webb, current president of CONCACAF, allegedly took a series of bribes that ended up with his arrest in Zurich despite appearing much more capable of transparency than the previous president who fell to scandal. Though, I’m not quite sure why anybody might be shocked that a Cayman Islands banker might be susceptible to bribes. Nonetheless, this is not a matter that Major League Soccer wants to be involved in while it tries to continue its growth.
Despite all of this, Sounders’ and Timbers’ affiliation with this matter is tenuous at best. Though much of the other country may only check in every four years when the World Cup rolls around, the PNW organizations have operated with nothing but exceptional sport, and the fans recognize that. Soccer is here to stay for Portland and Seattle, and with grace and transparency, they will weather this storm just fine, as have many teams in other sporting scandals.
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