July 8 – They say that criminals always return to the scene of the crime. In 2015 the US Department of Homeland Security blew the administration of world football off its feet with the FIFAgate scandal and indictment of more than 40 FIFA federation officials.
The first of the whistleblowers to be taken into custody was former Concacaf general secretary Chuck Blazer, famously arrested on his mobility scooter outside the Trump Tower where Concacaf had its corporate offices. Blazer also had an apartment in Trump Tower that he lived in with his parrot, as well as a separate apartment for his cats – it’s that kind of eclectic building.
FIFA and football have history with this building and close to the 10-year anniversary of those seismic arrests why not celebrate with a permanent return to the place where so many of the dirty deals and pretty much all the indicted felons were seen to frequent.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino referred to Trump Tower as an “iconic building” during the opening.FIFA also referred to its shiny new trophy which will now be on display in the office building’s lobby, as iconic. (ed: Gianni has his name engraved on it. See How to become a winner, engrave your name on the trophy).
Like The Hood in the cult Thunderbirds kids show, Gianni too is becoming iconic. It seems FIFA, a late entrant in the iconography genre, is now cornering it. Hopefully FIFA will remain focussed on its new outreach into the vocabulary of symbols and meanings, and leave the football world alone.
The Club World Cup trophy will be on display for five days at Trump Tower “until the final…open for everyone, every fan of football or soccer”. Hurry, hurry, two iconic things to tick off your must-see bucket list if you are visiting New York.
A Google search for iconic New York buildings, strangely doesn’t list Trump Tower. Instead it lists buildings and public places like the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Plaza, One Times Square, and the Dakota Building. Wouldn’t one of these buildings been more impactful for the Club World Cup trophy display?
Will all those undocumented people, their families, friends and neighbours, currently people pursued by Trump’s immigration agents really feel comfortable trekking to Trump Tower to see Gianni’s name engraved on a rip-off of the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ glitter ball.
Why not display this magnificent icon in the United Nations Building – where the whole world is almost one. At least it would echo one of Infantino’s favourite mantras that “FIFA (is) a global organisation (and) to be global, you have to be local, you have to be everywhere, so we have to be in New York”. Or is that a bit too risky a place for the FIFA felons to congregate in bonhomie, backslapping and to call each other brother.
There was one other venue option available. Salt Bae (Nusret Gökçe) – the little chef guy with the flood pants who won the World Cup trophy in 2022 when he ripped it out the hands of that other squirt Lionel Messi (remember him?). Salt Bae has one remaining Nusr-Et Steakhouse restaurant in New York City. It’s located in Midtown.
Bet you won’t be able to get a table there after the CWC final this Sunday with all the FIFA folk queuing up for a gritty steak on Gianni’s tab, all paid for in the name of global harmony and under the CWC banner slogan ‘Unite for Peace’.
Thank goodness FIFA has stuck to its moral compass and has no time to play global politics. We keep telling you that Palestine.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1752067833labto1752067833ofdlr1752067833owedi1752067833sni@n1752067833osloh1752067833cin.l1752067833uap1752067833