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Lords of Soccer

Lords of Soccer

iHeartPodcasts

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2 Creators

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5.0

(16)

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2 Creators

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. It boasts some 250 million players in 200 nations. It's the sport of the people. At the top of the professional pyramid is FIFA - a somewhat mysterious group of elite businessmen who promote the sport and organize the biggest international contest on earth, the World Cup. The contest generates billions in revenue and attracts billions of fans.

But behind the spectacle lurks an ugly truth.

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10 Listeners

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5.0

(16)

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Top 10 Lords of Soccer Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Lords of Soccer episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Lords of Soccer for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Lords of Soccer episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Lords of Soccer - The Inside Man

The Inside Man

Lords of Soccer

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06/16/22 • 30 min

Chuck Blazer was one of the most powerful men in international soccer - or football, as most of the world knows it. As a member of FIFA’s executive committee, he was among an elite few who managed the World Cup, the globe’s ultimate sporting competition. To his fellow Lords of Soccer, Blazer was loyal; and like many of them, he was utterly corrupt. In November 2011, two federal agents stopped the eccentric sports executive outside his Trump Tower apartment. They offered him a deal - spill the tea on FIFA’s secret world of bribes and money laundering or go to prison for tax fraud. Blazer took the deal, setting in motion the largest international corruption investigation in history.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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7 Listeners

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2 Comments

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Lords of Soccer - See No Evil

See No Evil

Lords of Soccer

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07/28/22 • 28 min

In this episode, you’ll hear how the Lords of Soccer abused their positions to prop up and promote a violent dictatorship in Chile, all in the name of profit.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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3 Listeners

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Lords of Soccer - Qatar 2022

Qatar 2022

Lords of Soccer

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09/01/22 • 44 min

How did this small, Middle Eastern autocracy, with no international soccer pedigree or modern stadium infrastructure, land the ultimate international sporting competition: the 2022 FIFA World Cup? Money. Lots of money.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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2 Listeners

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Lords of Soccer - The Colonialist

The Colonialist

Lords of Soccer

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07/14/22 • 34 min

An organization like FIFA does not become corrupt overnight. So how did it happen? Well, long before FIFA became stuff of criminal lore, soccer’s governing body was simply known to be racist and morally corrupt. From supporting South Africa’s racist apartheid regime to propping up authoritarian dictators, FIFA’s so-called Golden Years were more blood red than gold. At the top of the pyramid for much of this, an Englishman named Stanley Rous.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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1 Listener

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Lords of Soccer - The Era of Gold

The Era of Gold

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07/21/22 • 39 min

The slow march toward corruption continues... When Brazilian businessman João Havelange took control of FIFA in 1974 it was still a modest operation, with six permanent staff and virtually nothing in the bank. By the time he retired in 1998, the soccer organization had $4 billion in the bank. But the man who built FIFA into a multi-billion dollar marketing machine would also be implicated in a string of scandals involving millions in bribes and kickbacks. Worse, Havelange had a nasty habit of cozying up to gangsters and dictators, and choosing profit over human rights.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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1 Listener

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Lords of Soccer - The World Cup of Shame, Part 1
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08/04/22 • 25 min

In 1978, FIFA faced a simple choice: Play the World Cup in a nation ruled by a brutal military dictatorship, or move the tournament to a country that better represented the global values of fair play at the heart of FIFA’s mission. FIFA chose to chase dollars rather than stand up for human rights. This is Argentina ‘78, the World Cup of Shame, Part 1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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1 Listener

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Lords of Soccer - The World Cup of Shame, Part 2
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08/11/22 • 38 min

After spending millions of dollars they didn’t have to build World Cup infrastructure, and disappearing anyone opposed to their lavish plans, Argentina’s military junta turns its eyes on an even bigger prize – a World Cup victory on its home soil in 1978.

How far would General Videla and his henchmen go to win? And would FIFA ignore their blatant efforts to rig the World Cup?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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1 Listener

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Lords of Soccer - White Elephants

White Elephants

Lords of Soccer

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08/18/22 • 37 min

FIFA’s appalling behavior in Chile and Argentina is ancient history...right? You’d think world soccer’s governing body would have learned its lessons and modernized by 2014, but you’d be wrong. In the soccer-mad nation of Brazil, FIFA was faced with a choice between profits and people, and FIFA did what it always does - it put profits first. Screw the consequences.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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1 Listener

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Lords of Soccer - Introducing: The Lords of Soccer
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06/01/22 • 2 min

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Lords of Soccer - The Raid

The Raid

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06/23/22 • 32 min

The five-star Baur-Au-Lac Hotel in Zurich, Switzerland caters to the world’s elite. Among its regular patrons, members of FIFA, which has its headquarters nearby. In May of 2015, just as the sun rose over bucolic Lake Zurich, authorities raided the hotel. The corrupt empire the Lords of Soccer had built was crashing down around them. Many FIFA’s biggest names would find themselves in handcuffs, led out by Swiss police as part of a raid that took down more than a dozen soccer officials, indicted on a range of charges, from money laundering to racketeering.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Lords of Soccer have?

Lords of Soccer currently has 13 episodes available.

What topics does Lords of Soccer cover?

The podcast is about True Crime, Podcasts, Sports and Soccer.

What is the most popular episode on Lords of Soccer?

The episode title 'The Inside Man' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Lords of Soccer?

The average episode length on Lords of Soccer is 35 minutes.

How often are episodes of Lords of Soccer released?

Episodes of Lords of Soccer are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of Lords of Soccer?

The first episode of Lords of Soccer was released on Jun 1, 2022.

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