EL BARRIO, EL BRONX – Happy Boxing Day, American savages! Those of us like yours truly – a Ghanaian who peacefully won freedom from the “crown” – still respect some English habits and holidays. I watch soccer, play rugby, understand Celsius, drink tea before bed and celebrate Boxing Day. But today, to placate you Native ‘Mericans, we will look at things that my American side cares about, too… like the dearth of quality NFL QBs and the current state of FIFA.
NFL QBs: There are 7 Billion people on this earth and over 400+ million people in America alone. Slightly less than half of this 400+ million are men. Around 200 million of these people are men and we still cannot find 64 talented enough men to play QB in the NFL? Yes, most teams have to use 2 QBs over the course of the season due to injury. However, these days the drop-off from starter to back-up is ridiculous. The Washington Redskins got lucky with Kirk Cousins replacing RG3 but look at Dallas or Houston. Each are down to their 4th QB of the season! Over 280 college football programs in America but there aren’t enough decent QBs to play in the NFL year after year!?! I’m no mathematician but does that make sense? 
FIFA: The corruption level at FIFA keeps rising to incredible new heights. Even if you’re not a fan of soccer, who doesn’t love a good scandal? As of now, former FIFA vice-president, Eugenio Figueredo, has been extradited to his native Uruguay for trial. He avoided American courts so he may still get off, but the US continues to press for a trial here. Eight year long bans were handed down by the ‘FIFA ethics committee” (stop laughing-yes I did just use FIFA and ethics in the same sentence) for President Sepp Blatter and UEFA boss Michel Platini. Both were found guilty of ethics breaches over a £1.3m ($2m) “disloyal payment” and suspended from all football-related activities. Blatter says he is still president despite the ban and claims he is just being used as some sort of scapegoat by other members. The long list of people hoping to replace the leaky Blatter doesn’t make it seem like this scandal will go away anytime soon. The FIFA presidential election is due to take place on 26 February. There are currently five candidates to take over:
Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa – 50, Bahrain, president of Asian Football Confederation;
Tokyo Sexwale – 62, South Africa, politician, businessman and former political prisoner;
Prince Ali bin al-Hussein – 39, Jordan, a former Fifa vice-president and 2015 Fifa presidential candidate;
Gianni Infantino – 45, Switzerland, Uefa general secretary and a member of Fifa’s reform committee;
Jerome Champagne – 57, France, a former Fifa assistant general secretary and former French diplomat.
Voting will take place by secret ballot (what could go wrong?) with each of the 209 member states having a vote.
This story will deliver some more funny moments before it is all said and done!
Thanks for reading and come back tomorrow for Cheesy Bruin!
