FIFA World Cup highlights Africa’s sad story of Corruption

The action on the football field at the recently concluded 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar bore the strong imprint of African migration — and the stink of corruption. France’s Kylian Mbappe, one of the tournament’s best scorers and an early contender for best player, was born to a Cameroonian father, as was his teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni. Cody Gakpo, another top scorer from the Netherlands, was born to a Togolese father. The tournament’s youngest player, 18-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko, plays for Germany but was born in Cameroon, says a report on qz.com

In the 13th match of the World Cup, the Swiss striker Breel Embolo gently held his hands up after scoring the winning goal against Cameroon. Stopping himself from celebrating was a sign of respect: He had just scored his first-ever World Cup goal against the country where he was born, and where his father still lives.

Embolo was one of 136 soccer players in Qatar representing countries other than the ones in which they were born. At this World Cup, an astonishing 16% of players crossed borders to pursue their sport, shining an even stronger spotlight on the dynamics of immigration in international sport, says qz.com. And you can certainly add corruption here as a key factor driving the immigration of these players, with the biggest loser being Africa.

How Africa suffers due to corruption

About half of the players on France’s national team were of African descent. A story on ghanaweb.com says corruption is rife in Africa when it comes to national team call-ups, and merits are not taken into account.

Star French player Kylian Mbappe’s father Wilfried bears this out: “At first, I wanted my son to play for Cameroon but someone at the Cameroon Football Federation charged a sum of money that I didn’t have to make him play. The French didn’t charge anything.”

Can you imagine the wealth of football stars African nations would have if they didn’t ask players to pay to play for their football teams? Imagine what would have happened to Ronaldo and Messi if they were born in Africa! African nations can never hope to win big until corruption is eliminated there. 

Corruption costs both huge amounts of money and precious lives to countries all over the world. Corruption and bribery impact and cause severe harm to businesses, including causing financial loss, dire legal consequences, brand damage, damage to an organisation’s reputation, and impedes sustainable development.

CRI® Group experts have years of experience and have been trained to provide your business with bespoke advice that fits your organisation’s needs. Implement preventative measures in your workplace today and guide your team to an ethical and corruption-free way of working. 

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